Opposites Attract
by Chaparrita
Summary: "Y'know, you're really cute and dainty. But then you open your mouth. It completely ruins the effect." I don't believe in love at first sight. Not even a little bit. But I am a firm believer in annoyed at first sight. And Fred Weasley only furthered that belief.
1. Chapter 1: The End of Normality

The End of Normality

 **Hi everyone! This my first fanfiction; I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't and probably never will own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Do I believe in love at first sight?

No.

Do I believe in hate at first sight?

Maybe.

Do I believe in annoyed at first sight?

Absolutely.

Before him, my life was relatively normal. As normal as your life can be when you're a witch and attend a magical boarding school where strange things happen every year. Then he came bounding in with all guns blazing, making it his mission to throw my life into chaos.

He succeeded.

I didn't mind.

My name is Alyssa Summers. I have stacks of books everywhere. I know the city of London like the back of my hand. I expected to graduate Hogwarts with ten or eleven N.E.W.T.s and find something to do with my life.

I never expected him.

* * *

"Are you sure you've packed everything?" Mum asked for the thirty-seventh time. I sighed, looking to my dad for help, but he was watching the others on the platform with wide eyes. So I looked to my cousin Dora instead.

"She'll be fine, Aunt Izzy," she grinned, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "I'll look after her, I promise."

"Oh, all right," Mum relented, her voice cracking. She pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. "Alyssa, you will be careful, won't you? And study hard, and make friends?"

 _"Mum,"_ I complained. "You're crushing me. You heard Dora, I'll be fine."

I wasn't sure why she was so worked up. After all, she'd gone to Hogwarts herself, years ago. I gave her another hug and permitted her to kiss my cheek. I turned to Dad, Aunt Dromeda, and Uncle Ted. They all hugged me, but my little brother declared that I had cooties. I made a face at him. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Come on, 'Lyssa," Dora chuckled. "I'll help you get your stuff on the train."

She hugged her parents and led me off toward the Hogwarts Express. We hoisted our trunks onto the train.

"Do you want me to sit with you?" Dora asked, absently turning her hair bubblegum pink.

She's a Metamorphagus, which is really cool. I spent a few years trying to become one when I was little. All I got was sent to my room for getting into my mother's beauty products.

"No, that's okay," I shrugged. "You go on and sit with your friends."

"If you're sure...go meet some first years. Try not to scare them all away with that huge brain of yours."

I laughed and started to lug my trunk down the corridor. Most of the compartments were already full, and it was a while before I reached any that looked inviting. On my right was a compartment with three girls, who were giggling hysterically about something. Okay...maybe not my idea of inviting. On my left, a girl sat alone with her head pressed to the window. I slid the compartment door open cautiously, but she still jumped.

"Hi," I smiled. "Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." All right, that wasn't strictly true. But I didn't fancy sitting with the gigglers. The girl shrugged, but helped me hoist my trunk into the luggage rack next to hers.

"I'm Alyssa Summers," I said once we were seated again.

"Elena Michaels," she murmured, smiling shyly and shaking my hand.

"You're American!" I cried, noticing her accent.

"Yeah?" she said, somewhat defensively.

"Nothing, that's just really cool," I grinned. "How come you're not going to Salem Institute?"

"My parents are Muggles," she said, cheeks turning red.

"So? There are a lot of Muggle-borns here. Besides, my dad's a Muggle."

"My parents don't like magic." Her voice sounded funny when she said that. "They said that if I was going to be a witch, I couldn't go home during the summer. So I'm here instead. I'm staying with my older brother,Will. He's a wizard."

"Oh," I said, grimacing. "I'm sorry."

Elena shrugged. "It's all right. My brother has been great. The woman who came with my school letter took care of everything. She was scary-looking...McGonagall, I think Will said her name was."

"That's right, I think. Will you go back to America when you've finished school?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

The more I talked, the more Elena talked. Soon, we were chatting like we'd known each other our entire lives. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was making a new friend.

"What House do you think you'll be in?" I asked.

"Well, Will says I have to be in Gryffindor, so I can cheer for 'his' team. What about you?"

"My mum was in Ravenclaw. That's where I'm hoping to end up. But she comes from a family of Slytherins, so I guess we'll see. I hope we end up in the same House."

"Me too, I really-" She was cut off when two red-headed boys burst into our compartment.

"Ha!" one of them said, slamming the door shut. "See if he finds us in here!"

"Excuse me," I said, standing up. "But this compartment is full."

"What do you mean?" the other boy frowned. "There're two empty seats right there!"

"Yes, but we're having a private conversation. So, would you mind?" The first boy frowned, looking at me appraisingly.

"Y'know, you're really cute and dainty. But then you open your mouth. It completely ruins the effect. Come on, George."

I glared after them.

"Do you know them?" Elena asked warily.

I sighed and shook my head.

"I've never seen them before in my life."

"Oh..." she said uncertainly. "Okay, then."


	2. Chapter 2: The Beginning of Madness

Chapter 2: The Beginning of Madness

 **Hi everyone!**

 **First, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who followed and reviewed. It really means a lot.**

 **Second, just to clear up any confusion, I'm going to go ahead and point out that for plot reasons, I had to skip Alyssa's first four years as Hogwarts. If I wrote everything that happened then, you'd die of boredom and close your laptops. However, I do plan to do a few flashbacks to her earlier school years.**

 **If you recognize it, it's not mine.**

* * *

"I knew you'd get that," Penelope Clearwater smiled as I walked into the prefects' compartment. She pointed to the blue and bronze badge on my robes. "Well done, 'Lyssa."

"You didn't do too badly either," I pointed out, gesturing to her Head Girl badge.

"All right, all right, settle down," Percy Weasley said loudly. I passed a hand over my mouth to hide a grin. "Now, then. Welcome, new prefects. You have been entrusted with great power. It is not to be abused."

 _With great power_ , I thought, _comes great responsibility_. I had to struggle to keep a straight face. I tuned out the rest of Percy's speech. And I thought the twins had been annoying. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of them. I hadn't actually had a real conversation with them since that incident before first year, but I couldn't exactly ignore them. They made themselves known.

"Miss Summers?" Percy's voice dragged me out of my thoughts. "You have some objection to your assignment?"

I realized that I was glaring at the floor and hurried to shake my head. Penelope was suppressing laughter.

"All right, then," Percy said pompously. "You and Mr. Matthews should start patrolling the corridors. You will be relieved of your duties in one hour."

I glanced over at Daniel Matthews, my fellow Ravenclaw prefect. He smiled hesitantly and gestured for me to leave the compartment ahead of him. Percy and Penelope followed us out.

"Penny," Percy said stiffly. "I wanted to ask you-"

"Ooh!" a voice behind me cut in. "Look, Freddie! He wants to ask her something!"

I turned around to see the Weasley twins leaning the walls on either side of the corridors. They were both smirking.

"What could it be?" the other twin wondered.

"He probably wants to know if she still feels like putting up with him this year. I mean, she's already spent a year in his company. That must've been pure torture."

"Oh, leave them alone!" I sighed exasperatedly.

The twins turned their attention to me, looking mildly surprised.

"Why would we do that?" one of them asked.

"Because you're annoying them," I scowled. "And me."

Before either of them had time to respond, Penelope elbowed me sharply in the ribs.

"I guess you don't know each other," she said, looking slightly nervous. "Fred and George, Alyssa Summers. Alyssa, Fred and George Weasley. Oh, and this is Daniel Matthews."

"I know who they are," I muttered, looking away from them.

Percy cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway, Penelope, would you be interested in meeting me in the library tomorrow night?"

"Sure," she grinned. "It's a date."

"Ooh! A date!" George (I think) cooed. "Isn't that adorable?"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped.

Both twins grinned at me.

"I think she's going to be a lot of fun," Fred (or George?) observed, eyes glinting down at me.

"Er...come on, Alyssa," Daniel said, taking me by the elbow. "Let's go."

I allowed myself to be led along, but I could hear the twins laughing behind me.

* * *

"Elena," I said, slamming her compartment door shut. "I am going to kill your friends."

"Which ones?" she asked, moving her feet off of the seat next to her so that I could sit.

"Fred and George Weasley."

"Ah," she nodded. "What'd they do?"

I sighed, tucking my feet up under me. "Do they have off switches?"

"If they do, they're not in places they display to the general public."

I snorted. "That's gross, 'Lena. They were hanging around outside the prefects' compartment and decided to pick on Percy and Penny."

"Let me guess," she sighed, chucking a Chocolate Frog at me. "You snapped at them."

"You know me so well. I'm going to kill them."

"Go ahead," she said carelessly. "Although, they are twice your size."

I huffed. "That's not very supportive."

Elena opened her mouth, but she was cut off as the compartment door slid open again. My friend Megan waved excitedly at us.

"Hi, 'Lyssa! Hi, 'Lena!"

"Hi, Megan," we said in unison.

"Good summer?" she asked, sitting across from me.

"Megan, we saw you two weeks ago," I reminded her. "When you stayed at my house."

She shrugged, grinning at us. Megan was our ray of sunshine. No matter how bad of a mood I was in, she would drag me out of it with her happy-go-lucky personality. If I didn't know how smart she was, I would've said she belonged in Hufflepuff, not Ravenclaw.

"Who do you think the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is?" she asked, accepting the piece of gum Elena offered her.

"I just hope he's a good teacher," I shrugged.

"Can't be any worse than Lockhart," Elena said with a shudder. "As long as he gets us through our O.W.L.s all right, it'll be fine."

Megan and I both grimaced at the mention of O.W.L.s. Dora had told me this would be the hardest year yet. I got a knot in my stomach just thinking about the exams.

"We're stopping," I realized suddenly, feeling the train start to slow down. I glanced down at my watch. We couldn't be at Hogwarts yet.

"I don't think-" The lights went out. The compartment door slid open again, slowly and ominously, to reveal a hooded figure. Instantly, it felt as though everything good had been sucked out of the world. Elena was trembling all over. Megan was staring at the creature in horror. My insides felt like they'd been frozen. I could remember terrible things, things I hadn't thought about in years.

 _Freak..._

Just as quickly as it had come, the creature was gone. The lights came on again.

"What...w-was that?" Elena said, her teeth chattering.

"D-Dementor," Megan replied. "They g-guard Azkaban. What they're doing here..." She trailed off as a woman bustled into the compartment. I recognized her as the trolley witch.

"Poor little dears," she said sympathetically, handing us each a large slab of chocolate. "Those awful things must've given you all a fright. Eat, you'll feel better."

With a smile, she headed off again, no doubt to tend to the other students. I took a small bite of chocolate and sighed. Warmth spread from my head to my toes. The old memories faded. I gave my head a little shake to clear it.

"They were looking for something," I said, recalling the way the dementor seemed to glance around us, perhaps looking for a certain escaped prisoner.

"Or someone," Elena put in, echoing my thoughts as she broke off a piece of chocolate.

I nodded shakily.

"Sirius Black."


	3. Chapter 3: Boys in Books are Better

Chapter 3: Boys in Books are Better

 **Hello again!**

 **I want to thank my reviewers and followers again. You have no idea how much that means to me.**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter. And Dumbledore's speech is directly from the PoA book.**

* * *

"Alyssa!" Jenna, one of my dormmates, slid up the bench to make room for Megan and I. "Did you guys see the dementors on the train? And outside the castle? What are they thinking, letting things like that around students?"

"I don't think it was Dumbledore's decision," Megan whispered, nodding to the headmaster.

He was watching the Sorting with great interest, but he seemed tense. I sighed.

"This must because of Sirius Black," I said. They both nodded in agreement. "What I don't get is why they think he'd come here."

"Who knows?" Jenna shrugged, biting her lip worriedly and moving further up the bench so that a just-Sorted boy could sit between her and Megan.

We sat in silence for a while, watching the new students get Sorted. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table to see Elena sitting next to one of the Weasley twins. He was saying something to her, a funny little smile on his face. Elena grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Who do you think that is?" Megan asked suddenly, gesturing to the staff table.

I scanned the teachers until I found a man I didn't recognize. He couldn't have been very old, definitely a few years younger than my parents, but I could see the grey in his hair from here. His robes were patched and shabby, and he looked exhausted.

"Must be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," I figured.

"He looks ill," Megan said, with a frown that was more concerned than disapproving.

"He-"

"Welcome!" Dumbedore boomed, making me jump. He had gotten to his feet, beaming down at us all. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused here, and though he didn't say it, I could tell he wasn't very pleased with the idea of "playing host" to dementors.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the school grounds," he continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises-or even Invisibility Cloaks-" He broke off here, and I could've sworn he glanced at the Gryffindor table. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors."

I poked Penelope in the side and gestured to Percy, who was sitting with his chest puffed out. She chuckled and shook her head. I rolled my eyes. Why did guys do that?

"On a happier note," Dumbledore added. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Told you," I whispered to Megan as the shabby man smiled tiredly.

The applause for him was somewhat halfhearted.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs."

I sighed in relief. Professor Kettleburn really couldn't afford to lose any more body parts.

"However," Dumbledore said, smiling brightly. "I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

The applause was much more enthusiastic for Hagrid, who had gone rather red and was grinning at his hands. Megan and I both cheered loudly.

"Well," Dumbledore said as the applause finally died away. "I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

As he sat down, the plates and goblets on the tables were suddenly filled with food and drink.

"Hungry, 'Lyssa?" Megan asked, laughing as I grabbed a large piece of chicken.  
I didn't bother answering. There were more important things to do, like trying to sample everything. I didn't manage it, of course. I never did.

"I swear," Megan said between mouthfuls. "My parents need to take cooking lessons here."

I wrinkled my nose. Megan's parents could not cook. At all. It was a miracle that Megan and her older sister, Alex, hadn't starved to death or died of food poisoning.

At the end of the feast, Daniel and I guided the first-year students up to Ravenclaw Tower. Most of them yawned or stumbled sleepily as we climbed the winding marble staircase. I smiled at them. Surely I hadn't been that small when I was eleven. Then again, some of them weren't much shorter than me. Not that that was saying much.

"This is important, so please listen up," I said as we reached the door with the eagle knocker. "To enter the common room, you have to answer a riddle. If you get it wrong, you'll have to wait for someone else to come and answer it, or for someone on the inside to let you in."

I reached out and knocked. As always, a soft, musical voice flew out of the eagle's mouth.

"Can one create something from nothing?" it asked.

"There is no such thing as 'nothing,'" I said. "There is always something, tangible or not. Therefore, there is always a base to create something."  
"Well said," the eagle replied, and the door swung open to admit us into the common room.

The first-years looked around in awe. I grinned. Even after five years, it was still pretty amazing. There was a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw smiling serenly down at us at the entrance to our library, which, despite its smaller size, had nearly as many books as the main library. The huge windows offered an amazing view of the school grounds, although you couldn't see it very well at night.

"There's not a fireplace," a tiny, blonde girl said, sounding disappointed.

"Well, we wouldn't want all the books catching on fire," Daniel chuckled. "Don't worry, though. The temperature is magically controlled. It's never too hot or too cold."

The girl looked reassured, beaming up at him.

"Girls' dorms are through the door on the right and up the staircase," I said. "Boys' dorms are the same on your left."

The first-years straggled off in sleepy groups, disappearing up the stairs. The blonde girl was still smiling at Daniel.

"I'm Rose Smith," she said, once most of the others were gone.

Daniel raised an eyebrow and shook the hand she offered him.  
"Daniel Matthews. You should probably go on to bed, Rose. Don't want to be exhausted for your first day of class."

She gave him one last smile and took off. I chuckled.

"Looks like someone's got a crush on you, Daniel."

He laughed. "I'm going up to bed. 'Night, Alyssa."

"Goodnight," I smiled, and we headed in opposite directions.

When I reached my dorm, the other girls were chattering excitedly.

"You're late," Megan observed, throwing a magazine at me.

"Prefect," I reminded her, tapping my badge. "I had to help the new students."

"Sure," Kathy grinned. "You and Daniel."

"He's cute, 'Lyssa," Jenna said.

I rolled my eyes, changing into my pyjamas. "Stop trying to set me up with people. And anyway, Daniel's not my type."

"What is your type?" Samantha inquired.

I pulled a book out of my trunk.

"Fictional."

Before they could say anything else, I climbed into bed, drew the curtains, and started to read by wandlight, tuning out the others' giggling.

I had a feeling that this was going to be a long, annoying year.


	4. Chapter 4: Black Shadow

Chapter 4: Black Shadow

 **Hello!  
**

 **I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I'm so glad that you guys like this story! Thank you for taking the time to write a review, I really appreciate it. :)**

 **And (even though she insists that I stop thanking her) I'd like to especially thank _bellatrixD_ for being such a huge help with this chapter. She's got an amazing Fred/OC fic called Begin Again, so if you haven't read that yet, go check it out!**

 **I'm rather proud of this chapter, so I hope you all like it!**

 **Nope. Still don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"He's late," Kathy muttered as we joined our class in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"It's his first day," Megan pointed out. "Cut him some slack. He'll be here."

I couldn't help smiling at her. Always the optimist.

"'Lyssa!"

I looked around to see Elena making her way across the room toward me.

"What do you think Professor Lupin's got planned?" she asked once she'd taken the empty seat next to me.

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Hopefully, it's something useful."

"I'm just glad he's redecorated the classroom," Megan giggled. "Remember what it was like last year?"

Elena and I shuddered at the mention of Lockhart's décor. At that moment, Professor Lupin walked through the door. He still looked a bit tired, but much healthier than he had on the first night.

"Good afternoon, class," he smiled, setting a small chest on the desk. "Today will be a practical lesson, so quills away and wands out, please."

I raised my eyebrows. We hadn't had very many practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. This ought to be interesting. The chest rattled loudly, startling us. Professor Lupin chuckled.

"Who can tell me what a boggart is?" he asked. Several hands shot up, mine included. He pointed to Megan. "Yes, Miss...?"

"Megan Mitchell," she said. "A boggart is a shape-shifter. It changes shape according to what scares us most."

"Excellent," he smiled. "Five points to Ravenclaw. Now, as you've probably guessed, there's a boggart in this chest. I found him in my home a few days ago, and decided to bring him along. I want you each to take a turn facing him. The process of defeating a boggart is fairly simple. The incantation is _'Riddikulus.'_ Let's all try saying that without wands. After me, please... _Riddikulus!"_

" _Riddikulus!"_ we chanted back.

He nodded approvingly. "Very good. But the secret to truly finishing the boggart is to force him to change into something you find amusing."

I raised my hand.

"Miss-?"

"Alyssa Summers," I said. "If the boggart is going to change into whatever we fear most, how can we make that amusing? I mean, it's not like we're just going to laugh at our worst fears."

He stared at me for a long moment, almost as if he was trying to decide exactly who or what I was.

"That is an excellent question, Alyssa," he finally said. "Really, it depends on your imagination. Would it be better if I demonstrated first?"

"I think so," I nodded.

"Watch closely, then. You can try after me."

He unlocked the chest and a silvery orb rose out of it.

 _"Riddikulus!"_

The orb turned into a balloon, which deflated with a loud noise. I stepped forward hesitantly and almost tripped over a desk in my hurry to get away from the boggart as it changed.

It was me.

I could hear snickering from the back of the class. I didn't turn to see who it was.

Boggart-Me was several inches taller than I was, wearing a black gown I didn't even own. Her hair was pulled back into an elaborate knot, making her seem colder and sterner. There was a terrifying hardness in her eyes, as though all other emotion had been destroyed long ago.

"What's she afraid of?" someone snorted. "Herself?"

That was one of the Weasley twins. I shook my head, trying to clear it as the twins' sniggering went on.

"It's just a boggart, Alyssa," Professor Lupin said encouragingly, although he looked concerned.

Boggart-Me drew her wand, turning toward the class, pausing as though contemplating who she wanted to curse first. I caught a glimpse of Elena's worried face. She turned to frown at Fred and George Weasley and shook her head sharply.

"Alyssa?" Professor Lupin said.

"I..can't," I whispered, shaking my head. "May I be excused?"

He gave me that long look again before nodding. I grabbed my bag and left the class before Elena or Megan or anyone else could call me back.

* * *

I stared at myself in the mirror, taking in my pale skin and red, puffy eyes. That boggart had scared me more than I would ever admit. I recognized the elaborate dress, the cold look. Although I'd never met two of them in person, I'd seen old pictures of my mother's sisters.

The Blacks.

I braided my hair back and looked down at my watch. I'd been in here for half an hour. I wasn't surprised that none of my friends had come to find me. They knew to give me my space, which was greatly appreciated, especially at the moment. But I couldn't stay in the girls' lavatory for forever. I'd already missed half of Charms. Megan would cover for me (Flitwick adored her), but I needed to go. I took one last glance in the mirror and set off down the corridor, heading for the Charms classroom. However, I had barely rounded the first corner when someone called my name.

"Alyssa! Hey, wait up!"

I turned around to see one of the twins running up the corridor toward me. I considered pretending I hadn't seen him, but he'd catch up to me eventually. So I waited for him.

"Which one are you?" I asked warily as he reached me.

"George. Listen, are you all right?"

I couldn't find it in me to say anything biting, so I just nodded.

"Are you sure?" he pressed, touching my shoulder lightly.

I shrugged him off, remembering what he and Fred had done.

"Why do you even care?" I demanded.

He stumbled back dramatically, clutching his chest like I'd seriously wounded him.

"Well, I wouldn't be much of a man, let alone a Weasley man, if I didn't check to make sure that a pretty girl was all right, would I?"

"You didn't seem to care when we were in class," I observed.

He shook his head. "That was out of line. I shouldn't have made fun of your boggart. I'm sorry." He took a deep breath. "Would you please forgive me? Because I got a lecture from Elena and I really don't want another one. Please? I'll be forever in your debt!"

I couldn't help chuckling as he clasped his hands together, pleading. "Yes, okay. You're forgiven. More or less."

"Excellent!" he beamed. "Come along, then. Flitwick'll be disappointed if you don't show up. He might even give you detention."

"Doubt it," I snorted. "Wait...is there a sticky note on my back?"

I craned my neck to try and look over my shoulder. George laughed.

"Not this time. That would be too obvious." His face suddenly became serious as we started walking to class. "Hey...your boggart. What was that about? It was you, but...not you. A different version of yourself."

"I dunno," I lied. "Maybe I'm afraid of getting taller and wearing ridiculous gowns."

He looked at me for a long moment, much the same way that Professor Lupin had. But then he shrugged.

"That makes sense. That gown _was_ pretty ridiculous."

I nodded in agreement. We stopped for a moment outside the classroom.

"Do me a favor," George said. "Make sure you tell Elena I apologized. Maybe tell her I'm your hero or something like that."

I grinned. "Don't push your luck, Weasley."

He pushed his bottom lip out in a pout and gestured for me to walk through the door ahead of him. Professor Flitwick didn't comment on my being late as I took my seat next to Megan, so she must've come up with a reasonable excuse for me.

"What's the plan?" I heard a voice behind me whisper.

I glanced around to see Fred grinning hopefully at George, who raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "There is no plan."

Fred's face fell.

"What'd you go after her for, then?"

"I told you, I wanted to apologize."

"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley," Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Please pay close attention! This will almost certainly be on your O.W.L.s!"

Both twin immediately adopted looks of deepest interest. But George grinned when he saw me looking.


	5. Chapter 5: Confessions and Creatures

Chapter 5: Confessions and Creatures

 **Hello, people of FanFiction!**

 **As always, I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed my story. You guys are awesome.**

 **10thDoctor42: Yes, Rose Smith was a Doctor Who reference. I was wondering how many people caught on. :)**

 **All right, everyone! I hope you like this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, this whole story would be canon.**

* * *

Two days after my failed attempt to defeat a boggart, I got a note from Professor Lupin at breakfast, requesting that I come to his office during my free period between Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures.

"What do you think he wants?" Elena asked, peering at the note over my shoulder as I sat next to her at the Gryffindor table.

I shrugged. "Maybe he wants to ask if I'd like to drop Defense Against the Dark Arts."

She sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze.

"If I'd had to face that boggart, I would've frozen up, too. It was scary enough from where I was sitting. Besides, you'd never had to do anything like that before."

I huffed. Elena could never stand to see anyone hurt or upset, which was especially helpful at the moment.

"Good morning, ladies!" George Weasley beamed as he and Fred sat across from us. "Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I shrugged, crumpling Professor Lupin's note in my fist.

"What's in your hand?" Fred asked.

I frowned. "Nothing for you to worry about. Elena, are you going to eat that piece of toast?"

I snatched it off of her plate before she could answer. She just sighed and held her hand out expectantly. I broke the slice of toast in half, handing her one of the pieces. George rolled his eyes at us.

"So, are you going to tell us what's in your hand?" he asked, helping himself to sausage.

"Professor Lupin wants to talk to me about something," I sighed. "It's not a big deal."

I shoved the ball of parchment into my book bag. When I looked up again, I saw Fred watching me.

"What?" I demanded.

He shrugged, reaching for the plate of bacon.

I sighed. "I'm going to go ahead to class. I've got Arithmancy first thing and I want to get there early."

"I'll see you in Care of Magical Creatures, though, right?" Elena asked.

"Right. If you find a way to get those books to stop biting, let me know, okay?"

She gave me a thumbs up. I grabbed my bag and waved to George. He saluted teasingly. Fred remained focused on his bacon. His ears had gone pink. I shrugged it off and left the Great Hall.

* * *

"Alyssa," Professor Lupin smiled, opening his office door. "Please, come in."

He stepped to the side to give me room to walk through the door. I glanced around the room. In the corner, in a sort of tank, there was a strange creature that looked something like a cross between a goblin and a dwarf. It had red eyes and long, sharp nails that looked more like claws.

"What is that?" I asked, taking a step toward it. It swiped at me angrily.

"Red Cap," Lupin explained. "They live in holes in the ground wherever human blood has been spilled. Fairly easy to defeat for witches and wizards, but extremely dangerous for Muggles. I'll be introducing him in our next class."

I watched the Red Cap for another moment before remembering why I was here.

"You...wanted to talk to me about something?" I asked.

"Have a seat," he invited, sitting behind his desk and gesturing to the chair across from him. I sat and waited for him to speak.

"Alyssa, I'd like to talk about your boggart," he said.

I grimaced, knowing this had been coming.

"What about it?" I asked.

"It was...disturbing, to put it mildly. If you're comfortable with telling me, I'd like to know what it was."

I hesitated. "And if I don't feel comfortable talking about it?"

Lupin smiled. "Then you don't have to. I won't bring it up again."

I raised my eyebrows. That had not been what I expected at all. I glanced at the door, considering leaving. Lupin didn't say anything as he waited for me to speak.

"It's kind of a long story," I heard myself say.

"In that case, would you like a cup of tea?" he asked.

"All right," I nodded, feeling a bit awkward. "Thank you."

"It's no trouble," he assured me, tapping the kettle with his wand. It whistled sharply, steam coming from the spout.

I was silent while he made the tea, and accepted the chipped cup he offered me. He took a sip of his own tea, clearly waiting for me to begin.

"My mother..." I faltered, wondering whether or not I could trust this man. "Professor, do you know about the Black family?"

Lupin's eyes widened. He set his cup down slowly.

"I've heard of them, yes. And your mother...?"

"Was a Black," I explained, the words coming quickly now, tripping over themselves in their hurry to leave my mouth. "Her name's Isabelle. She ran away from home when she was my age. She told me she'd had enough. That she didn't want to be like them. But...she also told me once that she could see her sisters in me. And I know that not all of them are exactly nice. Bellatrix Lestrange went to Azkaban for torturing those people. Narcissa Malfoy...well, she raised Draco Malfoy, so she can't exactly be a saint. I...I don't want to be like those people. But it's in me. It's always there. So that's what my boggart means. That's what I'm afraid of. Ending up like them."

Professor Lupin gave me that same long look that he had given me in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I took a sip of tea to give myself something to do. It had cooled off during my story, and now it was barely warm.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Lupin said after another second of silence. "That was brave of you."

I shrugged. "Not really. I did run out of class, after all."

He chuckled. "I think that was understandable. When I was in school, I got sick the first time I faced a boggart. It's not easy. But now that you know what it is, it'll be easier to face."

I nodded, keeping my eyes trained on the Red Cap in its tank.

"I knew someone very much like you once, Alyssa," Lupin said gently. "He struggled with his family tree, too. But he realized that his family didn't have to define him. You'll realize that, too, in time."

I felt horrified as tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to wipe them away subtly.

"Thank you," I said, once I could speak steadily.

"You're welcome. Anytime you feel like talking about this, or anything, I'll listen."

"Thank you," I repeated, then stood. "It's almost time for my next class. I don't want to be late."

"You'd better hurry, then," he said with one last smile.

I nodded and headed for the door. I was about to close it behind me when I stopped.

"Professor Lupin?"

He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes?"

"You...won't tell anyone what I said, will you?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

A sense of relief washed over me.

"Thank you," I sighed. "One more thing...why did you take the time to talk to me?"

He chuckled. "You remind me of a friend I used to have."

I hovered in the doorway for another moment, but he obviously wasn't going to elaborate, so I took my leave.

* * *

"Elena!" I called, catching sight of her walking to Hagrid's hut with her fellow Gryffindors.

She stopped and turned, grinning when she saw me. I ran to catch up and she had to catch my shoulder to keep me from smacking into her.

"Hey!" she laughed. "You're late!"

"Not quite," I corrected her, glancing at my watch. "We've got five minutes before we have to be there."

"Still, you're cutting it a bit close, aren't you?" she asked as we set off again. "What did Professor Lupin want?"

"Just wanted to make sure I was okay after that incident with the boggart," I shrugged.

"Are you?"

"Of course I am," I said, elbowing her. "So, do you think Hagrid is going to carry on with the hippogriffs?"

Word had spread like wildfire after Hagrid's first lesson the day before. Apparently, Draco Malfoy had been attacked by a hippogriff. I figured he'd provoked the poor thing, but of course, there would be trouble anyway.

"I don't know," Elena said, biting her lip. "You don't think he'll get sacked, do you?"

"Doubt it," I assured her. "Dumbledore would never get rid of Hagrid."

"You're probably right," she agreed, sounding relieved.

Hagrid was waiting outside a paddock at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking a bit nervous. I gasped as I saw the creatures inside.

Hippogriffs were strange-looking, to be sure. Their bodies, hind legs, and tails were those of a horse. Their front legs, heads, and wings belonged to an eagle. They seemed to be staring at us through startlingly orange eyes. They were odd, but in a magestic sort of way.

"Wow," I breathed. "They're beautiful."

Jenna and Kathy, who were standing just to my left, looked at me like I'd lost my mind. But Megan nodded, stepping closer to me to say, "Alex always said hippogriffs were the coolest. And instead she went off chasing dragons."

I grinned at the mention of her sister, who was currently traveling abroad, studying dragons. Alex had loved Care of Magical Creatures.

"All righ', settle down!" Hagrid said. "Yeh should all open yer books ter page-Eh?"

Megan had raised her hand, her cheeks rosy.

"Um...how do we open our books?" she asked. She took the Spellotape off of her copy of The Monster Book of Monsters and it immediately tried to bite her. She dropped it with a slight shriek.

"Can anyone open their books?" Hagrid asked, looking at the class hopefully. When we all shook our heads, he heaved a sigh and grabbed Megan's copy. It snapped at him, but he ran a finger along the spine and it shuddered before falling open.

"Yeh've got ter stroke them," he explained, as though it should've been obvious. "Try it, go on."

I pulled the binder clips off of my copy and ran my forefinger along the spine of the book before it could bite me. Sure enough, it opened. I could hear Fred and George snickering behind me as they stroked their books. Elena and I rolled our eyes in unison.

"Righ' then!" Hagrid said, clapping his hands together. "Yer welcome ter come a bit closer, if yeh like."

I stepped forward, leaning on the fence, but I was one of the few who did.

"As yeh can read in yer books, hippogriffs are proud creatures. They're easily offended."

"Like teenage girls?" Lee Jordan asked. I jumped; he and the Weasley twins were standing close to the fence a short distance away from me. Hagrid didn't say anything to him, but his beard twitched, so I knew he was smiling.

"The point is, yeh've got ter be polite ter hippogriffs. Yeh bow ter them, let them make the firs' move. If they bow back, yeh can touch him. If not..."

"You're in trouble," I murmured.

"So," Hagrid said. "Who wants ter go first?"

I glanced back at the class. No one looked particularly eager, even those who I knew liked Hagrid.

"I'll go," I offered, and froze.

Fred Weasley and I had spoken at the same time.

I raised an eyebrow. He crossed his arms, then let them drop to his sides and shrugged.

"Ladies first," he grinned, motioning toward the hippogriffs. I rolled my eyes and clambered over the paddock fence.

"Thatta girl," Hagrid encouraged. "Let's see...Let's introduce yeh ter Glamourhook."

He untied the chain holding the black hippogriff.

"Now, then...Keep eye contact an' bow."

Glamourhook stared haughtily at me as I bowed, trying hard not to blink. When I rose, the hippogriff regarded me for another second before bending its front knees and sinking into a bow.

"Well done!" Hagrid cried. "Very good! Go on, give her a pat."

I reached out cautiously and touched her beak. She closed her eyes and stretched her head out to nuzzle my face. I laughed, patting her shoulder.

The class applauded. I turned around to see Elena and Megan beaming at me. The Weasley twins climbed over the fence next, and the others followed.

"That was brilliant, 'Lyssa!" Megan cried, throwing her arms around me. I stumbled into Fred, who righted me with a smirk.

"Not bad, Summers," he said, before heading off to join George and Lee with the chestnut hippogriff. "Of course, I could've done it better."

I rolled my eyes, walking in the opposite direction, to where Elena was petting the grey hippogriff.

"Oh, Princess?" Fred called, making me look back. "You smell like hippogriff."


	6. Chapter 6: A Sirius Halloween

Chapter 6: A Sirius Halloween

 **Hi, everyone!  
**

 **Thank you so very, very much to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. :)**

 **I STILL don't own Harry Potter. Seriously, who do I talk to about owning it?**

* * *

September passed without much more excitement. I spent most evenings in the library, struggling under a mountain of homework. Defense Against the Dark Arts had quickly become nearly everyone's favorite class. After Red Caps, Professor Lupin introduced us to kappas, which Megan called water-monkeys. In all honesty, it was a pretty fair description.

Hagrid, however, seemed to have lost faith in his teaching ability. After the hippogriffs, he had us take care of flobberworms. Care of Magical Creatures became an extremely dull class that consisted mainly of poking lettuce down the worms' throats.

October came around, bringing Quidditch season with it. There was a buzz of excitement in the air; the previous year's cancellation of the Quidditch Cup brought on an increased desire to win this year.

"Fred and George said that Oliver's running them into the ground," Elena sighed, having joined me in the library one evening. "This is his last year. I don't know what he'll do if Gryffindor doesn't win."

"Nothing good," I figured, checking my Ancient Runes textbook to make sure I'd written the proper translation. "They're practicing again tonight?"

"Yeah. Ravenclaw's not, I take it?"

"Well," I grimaced. "Snape's booked the field for Slytherin so often that hardly anyone else has a chance to practice. If the Ravenclaw team doesn't get a decent amount of practice, we are going to be flattened."

"You should've tried out this year," Elena grinned.

I rolled my eyes and gestured to the teetering stack of books on the table next to me.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Quidditch. But there's no way I'd be able to play and get through all of this."

"How are you managing?" she asked, shaking her head in amusement as she grabbed a couple of books.

"Don't-!" I warned, but it was too late. The tower of books wobbled precariously and crashed. The huge, ancient books hit the table and floor with loud slamming noises. Elena and I both winced.

Madam Pince came storming over, looking absolutely furious.

"Quiet in the library!" she shrieked, snatching up the books with her clawlike hands and putting them back on the table. "If you can't work in silence, work somewhere else!"

"Sorry," I said quickly. "We're going now."

I shoved as many books into my bag as possible and gathered up the rest of my things, and then Elena and I practically fled from the library.

"Sorry," Elena grimaced.

I sighed. "It's all right. I'll work in the common room. Could you carry some of these for me?"

I dumped _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_ into her arms, only to have it snatched from her by someone walking up behind us.

"Did someone get kicked out of the library?" George asked, appearing on Elena's right side. He was grinning brightly despite the fact that he was shivering slightly.

"Maybe," I retorted. "What happened to you?"

"Quidditch practice, Princess," Fred said dismissively, coming up on my left side. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. But it's cold outside, in case you haven't noticed."

I rolled my eyes. "What're you doing here, then?"

"With Sirius Black on the loose, we couldn't let our favorite Gryffindor girl walk around the castle after dark all by herself!" George gasped.

"She wasn't by herself," I reminded him. "I'm right here. And it's nice to know that you're only here for Elena. Really sweet of you."

"And anyway," Elena added, looking at Fred over the top of my head. "I thought Angelina was your favorite Gryffindor girl."

Fred grinned and winked exaggeratedly. I sighed.

"I think I can manage from here," I said, taking my book from George and adding it to my armload. "'Night, 'Lena."

"'Night," she smiled. "Oh! The first Hogsmeade weekend; it's Halloween. Are you going?"

The Weasley twins immediately looked curious, arching their eyebrows at the exact same time. It was a bit creepy.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Depends on how much homework I have then. We'll see."

"Oh." She frowned. "All right, then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Alyssa..."

"'Lyssa."

"Earth to 'Lyssa!"

I blinked hard a few times, dragging myself back to reality. Megan was waving her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry," I sighed. "What were you saying?"

"I asked if you were okay. You look tired."

I glared at her. I hadn't gone to sleep until two in the morning because I was trying to finish my Astronomy essay, only to have my dorm-mates drag me out of bed five hours later to get ready to spend a day at Hogsmeade, when I could've been starting on the huge book that Professor Vector wanted me to read for Arithmancy. Needless to say, I was more than tired. I was exhausted.

I glanced down at my plate. Apparently, Samantha had filled it for me. I stabbed my slice of carrot cake with a fork. Megan gulped. I rolled my eyes at her.

"I'm just a little tired," I shrugged. Understatement of the year. "I think I'm going to turn in early, maybe get some extra sleep."

"Are you sure you're all right?" she asked worriedly, biting her lip. "You've been acting weird all day."

"Yeah, because I'm _tired_ ," I chuckled. "I'm okay. It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."

"If you're sure...you want me to bring you some of these sweets later?"

"No, but thanks." I glanced down the length of the table. "Well...maybe a few."

Megan grinned. "All right. Get some rest, 'Lyssa."

* * *

Fred's PoV

"Why would he-?"

"Sirius Black-"

"D'you reckon he's still-?"

The minute Dumbledore left the Great Hall, everyone began chattering excitedly as the story of Sirius Black trying to get into Gryffindor Tower was told to the Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Percy ordered. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

Fred and George each grabbed a squashy purple sleeping bag and carried them to where Elena, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, and Lee were, propped up on their elbows and talking quietly.

"Isn't Summers going to come snuggle with us?" Fred asked Elena. She sighed and pointed at the nearest entrance to the hall.

"She has to stay up; Dumbledore wants the prefects standing guard, remember? She is _not_ going to be in a good mood tomorrow morning."

"Is she ever in a good mood?" he wondered.

"You're hilarious," Elena said sarcastically.

"It's a gift."

"How do you think Black got in?" Angelina asked, glancing at the windows. Fred chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her sleeping bag closer to his.

"Don't worry, Ange. I won't let him get you."

She rolled her eyes, but snuggled closer to him nevertheless.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy called. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles blew out immediately, as though a gust of wind had blown through. The only remaining light came from the ceiling, dotted with the stars, and from the faint glow of the ghosts as they floated around, talking to the prefects. Alyssa was chatting quietly with the Grey Lady, leaning back against the wall. She had her wand in her hand, and even from halfway across the room, Fred could see that she was gripping it so firmly that her knuckles had gone white. As the ghost drifted off, he saw that Alyssa, frankly, looked terrified. At the feast, she'd been sitting with her head propped up on her hand, yawning sleepily. She looked wide awake now, her eyes traveling across the hall and the corridor outside. Her eyes caught Fred's before he could look away. She raised an eyebrow. He mimicked her.

"What're you doing?" Angelina whispered, looking up at him.

"It's nothing," he grinned. "I'm keeping watch."

"Right," she snorted. "Because Sirius Black would see you as a threat."

"Hey," Fred complained. "I think he'd take me very... _seriously._ "

She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter.

"For the record, I only laughed because it was a terrible pun," she said firmly.

"Right," he agreed. "Whatever you say."

She sighed and smiled at him before burrowing deeper into her sleeping bag. He glanced back up at Alyssa. She had her arms crossed and was looking down the corridor again, scowling fiercely. If Sirius Black had seen her, he'd probably hand himself in to get away from her. That glare could stop a dragon in its tracks.

With that on my mind, Fred rolled over and closed his eyes.

* * *

Alyssa's PoV

"Morning, 'Lyssa," Elena said tentatively as I sat next to her at the Gryffindor table.

I tried to reply, but it came out more like "Mmphng."

"Well, you look terrible," George observed as he sat down across from Elena.

"Thanks, George," I sighed. "Girls love hearing that. Try that line the next time you try to ask a girl out."

He made a face at me, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. I wrinkled my nose.

"Definitely make that face at her, too."

He grinned and shook his head. I felt my mood lifting...until Fred Weasley sat down on my other side.

"Good morning, Princess!" he chirped in my ear. "Sleep well?"

It took everything I had in me not to throw my plate of eggs at him. I clenched my teeth to avoid saying anything I'd regret later and picked up my fork. The others went back to talking while I tried not to fall asleep. As it was, I had a hard time not dozing off on Elena's shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but didn't protest as she carried on talking to Alicia Spinnet. I felt someone tug lightly on my hair and jerked up.

"What, exactly, do you think you're doing?" I demanded, pushing Fred's hand away from my hair. He'd had the ends of my curls between his fingers. His ears went pink, but then he shrugged.

"I just wanted to see if your hair feels as straw-like as it looks," he said. "It does."

I stood up and grabbed my book bag. If I didn't leave, I was going to start yelling in the middle of the Great Hall. I couldn't imagine anything good coming from that.

"I'll see you in class, 'Lena."

"'Lyssa-"

I didn't stick around to listen to her try to convince me to stay.


	7. Chapter 7: Not Always as Things Seem

Chapter 7: Not Always as Things Seem

 **Hey guys!**

 **Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. Opposites Attract reached 1500 views today! I'm ridiculously proud of that. It wouldn't have been possible without all of you, so thank you. Cookies for everyone!**

 **I don't own Harry freaking Potter.**

* * *

 _Dear Alyssa,_

 _I heard about Sirius Black's attempt to break into Hogwarts on Halloween. According to Dumbledore, no one was hurt, but I thought I would write, just to make sure. I'm sure everyone was a bit shaken up. Are you and Elena all right?_

 _I was called in for questioning at the Ministry. Before you start to worry, I promise everything went fine. They just asked a few questions about Sirius, whether I'd heard anything from him or if I knew where he might be hiding. I still can't believe it, Alyssa. He was the last person I thought would ever become a Death Eater. Even as a child, he was so different from the rest of the family. I suppose he, Andy, and I bonded a bit over that. He was always my favorite cousin. Then he was Sorted into Gryffindor, and I had real hope for him, that he would turn out right. I was so sure that he would be okay. But something must've gone wrong along the way._

 _Honestly, I'm a bit worried about him. His betrayal...it just wasn't like him. He was always so fiercely loyal to the people he cared about. Joining He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was something he never even considered. I just don't know what happened to him._

 _I'm sure Sirius will be back in Azkaban soon, but until then, please be careful, Alyssa. Keep out of trouble. We'll see you at Christmas. I love you._

 _Love,_

 _Mum_

I sighed, looking over my mother's letter for the third time. She hadn't given herself a moment's second to rest since Black escaped Azkaban. I was more worried about her than I was about the mass murderer on the loose.

"What's that, 'Lyssa?" Megan asked, peering over my shoulder. I quickly folded the letter up and shoved it into my bag.

"Just a letter from Mum," I shrugged, hoping I sounded nonchalant. "She's just checking in."

"I love your mum," she grinned. "She's so nice!"

"That's the only reason you come to my house, isn't it?" I teased. "You like my mum more than you like me."

"Definitely," she agreed.

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, then. We shouldn't be late. Professor Lupin said he was going to teach us about hinkypunks today."

* * *

Professor Lupin wasn't in the classroom when we arrived. In his place was none other than Professor Snape, his eyes glinting as though he was pleased with something. It was a bit disturbing. Megan and I exchanged confused looks as we took our seats. Across from me, Elena had her hand in the air. Snape sighed as though being forced to do something unpleasant and nodded to her.

"Yes, Miss Michaels?" he said reluctantly.

Elena's cheeks went faintly pink.

"I was only wondering where Professor Lupin is," she said.

Snape's mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile.

"Professor Lupin is too ill to teach today, I'm afraid. In the meantime, I'll be teaching this class. He hasn't left any record of what the class has been doing-"

"We were starting hinkypunks today," Jenna piped up, although she quickly closed her mouth when Snape turned his gaze on her.

"Five points from Ravenclaw for speaking out of turn, Miss Ripley," he said coldly. "Turn to page 394, all of you."

I flipped through the textbook until I found the right page. I frowned at the chapter title.

 _Werewolves._

I'd read through the book before term started, but I hadn't expected to be studying werewolves anytime soon. What was Snape playing at?

He had us read the chapter and take notes, alternately walking among us and looking at the work we'd done with Professor Lupin, making snide comments just loud enough for us to hear. He ended the class by telling us we were to write two rolls of parchment on how one would recognize and kill a werewolf.

"That...complete... _git_ ," I growled under my breath as we left class. "As if I didn't have enough to do already!"

"Talking to yourself, Princess?" came a voice from behind me. I turned around to glare at Fred.

"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" I snapped.

"Not at the moment, no," he shrugged, falling into step beside me. "Where're you headed?"

"Away from you," I said.

"Ooh, cold!" he said, looking pleased. "That was a good one."

"Oh, sod off," I sighed impatiently, quickening my pace. Thankfully, he didn't follow.

* * *

The next morning arrived, bringing a torrential downpour with it. Megan woke me up with her singing as she fixed her hair.

"Why're you even bothering?" I grumbled, remembering the first Quidditch match of the season was today. "You'll be soaking wet before you get to the Quidditch pitch."

"Nothing wrong with looking your best!" she sang loudly, making Kathy sit bolt upright.

I rolled my eyes. "Megan, before I met you, I was a morning person."

"You were a morning person until this school year started," she corrected. "You're overworked now. How many classes are you taking again?"

"Ten," I groaned, reluctantly swinging my legs out of bed. "Ten O.W.L.s to take this year. Ten."

Megan patted me sympathetically on the shoulder as I dug through my trunk for a jumper.

Twenty minutes later, we were heading down to the Great Hall. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table, happy to see that Elena was already there.

"I'll see you at the match," I told Megan.

"I'm going to ask Dumbledore if you can switch Houses, since you love sitting over there so much!" she called as I walked away. I didn't need to look at her to know that she was grinning.

"She's awake!" George cried as I reached the table. He moved up the bench to make room for me. I rolled my eyes.

"Good morning."

"Will you be supporting us today?" he asked, filling my plate with eggs and bacon.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Ravenclaw's not playing today, so I don't really have a preference."

"I didn't hear a no!" he beamed, handing me a fork. I raised an eyebrow.

"What're you doing?"

"You need to eat," he stated, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. "Otherwise, you're just going to drop."

I snorted. "What are you, my mother?"

He pointed at my plate and looked at me expectantly. With a sigh, I began to eat.

* * *

"It's mental, playing in conditions like these!" Elena shouted over the roar of the crowd.

"Quidditch matches aren't called off for thunderstorms, 'Lena!" I replied, equally as loud. "I wish one of them would catch the Snitch soon, though!"

Gryffindor was fifty points up and the match felt like it had been going on for ages. There had been no sign of the Snitch, as far as I could tell, anyway. The wind was blowing the rain sideways, right into our faces. Even with umbrellas, we were soaked to the bone.

"What're they doing?" Megan asked suddenly, pointing to the field.

I squinted. Both teams were flying back to the ground, huddling under large tents at the edge of the pitch.

"One of them must've called for a time-out," I figured. "Holy Rowena, I wish they'd hurry up. It's freezing!"

"Well, imagine how they feel," Megan said. "Out in the storm like that."

Elena and I both turned to look at her incredulously. She was so optimistic and sympathetic. It didn't seem possible.

"Megan," Elena said after a moment. "Are you even human?"

"Erm...I think so," she chuckled, looking back a the field. "They're back in the air!"

Elena and I shared exasperated looks and turned our attention back to the match. They hadn't been playing long when Cedric soared across the field with Harry close behind. I leaned forward and could just make out a glint of gold. I leaned out even further to watch.

"Come on, come on..."

It came on suddenly. A horrible, cold feeling. I couldn't hear clearly. Everything seemed to slow down. And then I saw them. Dark, hooded figures gliding onto the field. I could feel Elena shaking like mad beside me. I tried to reach for her, but my arm refused to work. Those memories, the ones I hated so much, began surfacing in my mind again.

In my dazed state, I only vaguely saw it when Harry Potter tumbled out of the sky.

* * *

I found Cedric Diggory standing under one of the tents at the edge of the field. He was covered in mud, but I could see that he had gone pale.

"Hi," I offered.

"Hey."

"You won fairly," I said. May as well jump right in. "It's not your fault Harry fell, and it's no use beating yourself up about it."

"But if I'd known that he'd fallen-"

"I know. I wouldn't have caught the Snitch either. But you didn't know."

He stared at me for a moment, then grinned slightly.

"Has anyone ever told you that when you talk, it feels like a ton of bricks hitting the other person in the chest?"

"Hmm...not that I can recall," I said, chuckling.

"Thanks, Alyssa," he said. "I appreciate your bluntness."

"Good," I smiled. "Come on, I'll walk with you to the changing rooms."

We took our time, dodging puddles and chatting. I liked to talk to Cedric. It'd always been easy, I'd known him since first year, when we'd sat in the same boat the night of our Sorting. But I hadn't gotten much of a chance to talk with him so far this year, as we both had O.W.L.s coming whether we liked it or not. It was nice to catch up.

"Hey," he said as we reached the Hufflepuff changing rooms. "If you see the Gryffindor team, tell them I'm sorry. I did tell Wood I wanted a rematch, but he said-"

"-You won fair and square," I finished. "He's right."

"Right," he grinned. "See you, Alyssa."

"See you."

I continued on toward the castle, trying to jump over the smaller puddles. It eventually turned into some sort of dance that mostly consisted of skipping and twirling and not caring that it was still raining. I sighed and pushed my soaking hair back from my face. It was good to be alone. I'd hardly had a moment to myself since school started. First my friends, and then all the classes, and the Weasley twins.

"Alyssa!" I groaned internally as I saw Fred and George running across the grounds toward me. Speak of the devils...

"Hi," I greeted them.

"What're you doing?" George asked, grinning.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"You look like someone drowned you," Fred pointed out.

I grimaced. "Thanks. Why're you two out here?"

"Looking for you," George explained. "I think...could you go talk to Elena?"

"Why?" I said quickly. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's still pretty shaken up over the dementors and what happened to Harry. Scared the living daylights out of her. I think she needs to talk to you. I tried, but I think you'll have better luck."

"Where is she?" I asked.

"In the library, I think. You'll go talk to her, won't you?"

He watched me anxiously, waiting for my answer. I couldn't help smiling at his concern.

"Of course I will," I assured him. "I'll go now."

George sighed in relief.

"Thanks."

I nodded and made to walk past them.

"Princess!" Fred called after me.

I rolled my eyes, but turned around.

" _What?"_

"Why were you out here, anyway?" he asked.

I didn't see the point in lying.

"I wanted to talk to Cedric."

"Oh."

He looked as though there was a bad taste in his mouth. I waited another second, but he didn't say anything, so I set off toward the castle again.

* * *

I found Elena at a table in the back of the library, hunched over a book. Her dark hair was still damp. I sat down across from her cautiously, not surprised when she gave a little jump.

"Didn't hear you come in," she said, trying for a smile.

"Mm. Are you okay?" I asked.

She was silent for a moment, and then she shook her head.

"Not really, no."

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

"What do you think about when dementors are near, 'Lena?"

She sighed heavily. "I think about...my parents telling me that if I left home, that was it. I think about those years before Hogwarts, when all my pictures from Will went into the trash as soon as I'd looked at them. Stuff like that."

I didn't say anything. What was there to say? 'I'm sorry?' That wouldn't help. So I just gave her hand another squeeze and let go.

"What do you think about?" she asked suddenly. "When the dementors are close by."

I didn't want to talk about it. But she'd answered when I asked. She deserved my answer.

"I think about Muggle school, when I would accidentally do magic in front of the other kids. How they would call me a freak and wouldn't let me play with them. That time Jonathan Fisher threw a rock at me. How alone I felt." I felt my mouth twist into a bitter smile. "Fun stuff."

We were both quiet for a long time. Like before, there was nothing more to say.

Some parents are prejudiced.

Fact.

Some kids are cruel.

Fact.

They say that we get experience from things that hurt us. That we learn from them and grow stronger because of them. Maybe they're right. But that doesn't make it any easier. It doesn't make it any fun. Elena and I knew that firsthand.

I grabbed one of her books and started reading. She went back to her own book. We didn't say anything else.

We didn't need to.

* * *

I rapped my knuckles against Professor Lupin's office door, bouncing on the balls of my feet while I waited for it to open. Just as I was about to give up and walk away, the door swung open.

"Hello, Alyssa."

I didn't doubt that he'd been ill. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he looked even shabbier than usual.

"Am I bothering you?" I asked. "I can come back later if-"

"No, no," he assured me. "You're fine. Please, come in. What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," I admitted, taking the chair across from his. "You weren't at the Quidditch match yesterday. Or at dinner tonight."

Lupin smiled slightly. He really did look tired.

"Thank you for your concern, Alyssa. I'm feeling a bit better."

"Are you going to be able to teach this week?" I asked before I could stop myself. "Professor Snape is having us write two rolls of parchment on werewolves."

He raised an eyebrow, frowning.

"Didn't anyone tell him that we hadn't covered them yet?"

"He didn't listen, the loathsome, evil-"

Professor Lupin coughed and shook his head subtly.

"Sorry," I grimaced.

"It's fine," he said, and I was sure he looked amused. "Yes, I should be teaching this week. And you don't have to do the werewolf essay."

"Oh. Well, actually, I've already finished it," I admitted.

He looked a bit startled at that.

"Oh yes?" he said lightly, picking up an essay that rested on his desk and glancing over it. "Do you think you could identify a werewolf if you met one?"

"I could," I nodded. "And I have."

He froze, looking up at me slowly. The sheet of parchment fluttered back to the desktop.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," I reassured him. "That's your secret to tell, not mine."

He gave an audible sigh of relief, rubbing his eyes briefly.

"Thank you, Alyssa. I appreciate that."

"You're welcome," I smiled. "And...just so you know, I don't care about that. You could be...I dunno, a unicorn or something, and I'd still think you were the best Defense teacher we've ever had."

He actually laughed at that, a proper laugh. It was a nice, rich-sounding laugh that made my grin widen.

"Careful, Alyssa. Don't want me getting a big head."

I chuckled and caught sight of my watch.

"I should go, Professor. It's nearly curfew, and I have to somehow do my homework and do prefect rounds at the same time. I've got an essay to write on human Transfiguration and Animagi."

He smiled. "I think I've got something to help with that essay."' He disappeared into a room off of the office, returning with an ancient-looking tome.

I took it from him hesitantly. The cover was so worn that I couldn't even make out the title. I opened the cover gently to see the first yellowed page covered with four signatures

"'Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs,'" I read aloud, looking up at Professor Lupin curiously. "Who are they?"

"Four boys who were best friends, once," he said nostalgically. "They didn't write the book, just studied it. It's about Animagi, so it should help you."

"Thank you," I grinned, flipping through the pages carefully. "I'll get it back to you as soon as the essay's done."

Much to my surprise, he shook his head.

"It's yours. Just take good care of it, will you? It's quite old."

I nodded. "I promise. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "Now, you had better be off."

I bid him goodnight and left. Maybe if I hadn't been in such a good mood, I might've noticed that I didn't close my bag all the way when I stuffed the book into it.

If I hadn't been in such a good mood, I might've seen my mum's crumpled letter from three days ago, which I hadn't put away yet, slip out of my bag and land on the ground.


	8. Chapter 8: Whispers in the Halls

Chapter 8: Whispers in the Halls

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* * *

"Oi!"

Elena and I glanced up from our timetables, which we'd been comparing. I half-expected to see the Weasley twins, even though they were sitting across from us. However, it was none other than Harry Potter striding into the Great Hall followed by Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. They came to a stop behind me. I turned to face them. Harry looked furious. I saw the other students glance our way, looking curious.

"Yes?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"You're Alyssa Summers, yeah?" he asked.

"Er...yeah. Can I help you?"

In answer, he slammed a crumpled sheet of parchment onto the table in front of me. I frowned and picked it up, smoothing it out gingerly. I scanned the first couple of lines. This was my mother's letter. He'd read it! I opened my mouth to demand what he thought he was doing, but then I looked back down at my mother's handwriting. My heart plummeted to my feet.

"You found my letter," I said in a voice that sounded too high-pitched to be mine.

"Found out your secret, more like," Harry said.

"What secret?" I asked.

He scoffed. "You're the one helping Sirius Black into the castle!"

If people hadn't been staring before, they were now. Even the teachers were watching us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Professor Lupin stand. Behind Harry, Hermione Granger plucked at his sleeve.

"Harry," she whispered, her voice shrill-sounding. "We can't just accuse he-"

"She's helping him!" Harry said, louder than before.

"You're wrong," I said, startled by the look Harry was giving me. My voice stopped working.

Harry laughed without humor. "It's all right there, in the letter. You're his cousin. You're a Black."

"I'm not!" I protested, managing to get the words out after a few moments. "I wouldn't."

"Then how is he getting in?" Harry demanded.

"I...I don't know. He's clever!"

"Harry," Professor Lupin said. He'd come up behind me without my noticing. "I think that's enough."

"She's-"

"I think you should sit down," Lupin said firmly. "We're not accusing anyone of anything until we have the facts. Alyssa..."

"Professor, please," Elena spoke up. "Not now. Can't it wait?"

He looked down at me. I didn't bother to hide the fact that I was shaking; I couldn't help it, anyway. I could suddenly feel everyone's eyes on me. It was like being under a blinding spotlight. One that I wanted to get away from. George was looking at me like he'd never seen me before. Fred was glaring down at his plate.

Suddenly, I couldn't stand it. I didn't remember getting up, but I found myself outside the Great Hall. My feet seemed to be moving of their own accord, carrying me along the corridors. I wasn't running, exactly, but I was walking faster than I normally would've, desperate to get away from all those accusing stares.

I somehow ended up in the Owlery, sliding into a sitting position against the wall, briefly checking to make sure that the patch of floor I was sitting on was free of owl droppings and animal skeletons. The owls regarded me curiously. My Barn Owl, Athena, spread her wings and soared down to perch on my knee. I smiled reluctantly, stroking her feathers as she watched me with her large black eyes.

"Sorry," I told her. "I don't have anything for you today."

"Are you talking to a bird?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. George was standing in the doorway. He grinned as I put a hand over my heart.

"You git," I scowled. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he chuckled, sitting next to me. His laughter didn't show in his eyes, which made me nervous. "You know, you shouldn't run off like that. Aside from the fact that Elena's worried sick, you left all your stuff." He dropped my bag into my lap and pulled my letter out of his pocket. I couldn't quite meet his eyes as I took it from him.

"Where is she?" I asked. "'Lena, I mean."

"I told her to go to class, that I'd find you."

"Well," I sighed. "You found me. What now?"

"Can I see this?" he asked.

He was pointing at the letter I held tightly in my fist.

"You haven't read it already?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He shook his head. I looked between him and the letter for several moments before shrugging and handing it over.

"Why not?" I sighed, closing my eyes. "It can't do anymore damage than it's already done."

We were both quiet for several minutes. Presumably, George was reading the letter. Athena broke the silence by hooting dolefully, probably mourning that fact that I hadn't brought her a treat. George chuckled. I opened one eye to look at him.

"What is it?"

"I can't believe Harry actually thought you would be helping Sirius Black."

"You don't think I am?" I asked, opening my other eye.

George snorted. "Of course I don't. Anyone who does is an idiot."

It was so stupid, but I nearly started sobbing at the rush of relief I felt. As it was, I couldn't keep a few tears from escaping. George's eyes widened. He looked horrified.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice thick as I brushed my tears away. "Never seen a girl cry before?"

"Don't cry," he ordered. "I won't know what to do if you start crying. Why are you, anyway?"

"Because you don't think I'm helping my mass-murderer cousin break into the castle."

"That's good, though," he said uncertainly. "Isn't it?"

"Of course it is. That's why I'm crying, dolt."

"Women are strange creatures," he declared, getting to his feet and offering me a hand up. "I wonder if they ever get any easier to understand."

"Doubt it," I sighed, shoving the letter into my pocket.

George motioned me down the stairs ahead of him.

"I don't know if I'm ready to deal with everyone," I hesitated.

"Sure you are," he encouraged. "Besides, what are they going to do? I'm right here."

I nodded reluctantly and we left the Owlery. I wasn't paying much attention to where we were going, letting George lead me through the maze of corridors. The whole time, he kept up an endless stream of chatter, talking about Quidditch and pranks and who-knows-what-else. I didn't say much, but he didn't push me to. I was grateful for that.

We reached Transfiguration class twenty minutes late. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, but didn't say anything as George pulled me over to sit with Elena, Fred, and a dark-skinned boy whose name I couldn't remember.

"'Lyssa," Elena sighed as I took the desk next to hers. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," I nodded. "I just needed some air."

She looked skeptical, but shrugged it off.

"Alyssa," George said, sitting across from Fred and in front of the other boy. "This is Lee Jordan. I don't know if you've met. Lee, Alyssa Summers."

"You're the girl everyone was talking about at breakfast," Lee said. "The one who's helping Sirius Black." I grimaced and he winked. "Hey, I won't judge. I like a bad girl, me."

"Good luck with that one," George snorted. "She doesn't have a bad bone in her body."

"Miss Summers," McGonagall called. I looked around and she pointed toward a box on her desk. "Please get two mice for yourself and Mr. Weasley."

I wish she hadn't mentioned George. He winked exaggeratedly as I stood. Fred rolled his eyes. I walked away before I could hear any comments either of them might have. I picked up two mice and was about to head back to my desk when Professor McGonagall spoke up.

"Miss Summers," she said quietly, so that no one else could hear. "I hope you understand that if you plan to help Sirius Black break into the castle tonight, I still expect you to hand in your homework tomorrow."

I couldn't help the wide grin spreading across my face. McGonagall actually smiled before sending me back to my seat.

* * *

I was the last one to enter Ravenclaw Tower that night. Everyone went silent as I entered.

"Oh, come on!" I protested in frustration. "Do you all really think that I'd help a mass-murderer?"

No one answered. Most of these people had known me for years, and as soon as an over-dramatic thirteen-year-old started making accusations, they turned on me. I rolled my eyes and headed for the stairs to my dorm. Sure enough, all the other girls were already in there. Just like the others in the common room, they went silent when I walked in.

"Glad to see you all believe me," I muttered, dropping my book bag on my bed.

"Of course we believe you," Megan insisted.

"I'd rather hear the whole story first," Jenna cut in. "Why does Harry think you're helping Black? Are you actually related to him?"

I sighed, changing into my pyjamas and climbing into bed as I thought carefully about what I needed to say.

"I can't tell you why Harry thinks what he does, Jenna. I can't read minds. But he's wrong."

She still looked skeptical. Kathy seemed to be trying to stay out of the conversation by burying her nose in a book. Samantha sat watching us, biting her lip nervously.

"Come on, Jen," Megan sighed. "We've known Alyssa for five years. She wouldn't do this. You know she wouldn't."

"Let her think what she wants, Megan," I said. "I don't have to explain anything."

Jenna drew the curtains around her bed and didn't reappear. Megan threw her hands up in exasperation.

"You look like Alex when you do that," I said, suppressing a smile. It felt good to say something a bit pointless, after all the drama I'd endured today.

"Good thing I'm not, though," she said. "Alex would've cleaned someone's clock by now."

"Fair enough," I agreed, grabbing an extra blanket. "Goodnight."

The other girls, excluding Jenna, echoed me, and Samantha turned out the lights.

I didn't go to sleep right away. I kept replaying everything in my mind. There were already whispers in the corridor, people who stopped talking and turned to stare when I walked by. Even Fred Weasley had thrown me a nasty glare that hurt a lot more than I cared to admit. And now one of my closest friends didn't believe me.

I rolled over and closed my eyes, trying to push the thoughts out of my mind. Everyone would come around.

Hopefully.

* * *

"Alyssa?" Professor Lupin called me back as I left Defense Against the Dark Arts. I walked back over to his desk.

"Yes, sir?"

"The headmaster told me to give you this," he said, handing me a small roll of parchment. I unrolled it to read,

 _Alyssa,_

 _I would be delighted if you could come to my office at seven o' clock tonight. I will have Percy Weasley escort you, if you could meet him outside the Great Hall fifteen minutes before._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Professor Dumbledore_

 _P.S. I find Chocolate Cauldrons quite delicious._

I glanced up to see Professor Lupin watching me.

"He wants me to come to his office," I sighed. "This is about Sirius Black, isn't it?"

"I don't know," Lupin shrugged. "You'd better just go and find out for yourself."

I nodded. "I will. But I haven't done anything wrong."

"I know you haven't," he smiled. "Alyssa...are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," I said, just like I'd told Elena. "A bit of gossip hasn't killed me yet. Neither has Black, so there's that."

"If you're sure..." He looked concerned, but then shook his head. "Go on to your next class now."

I nodded and left the classroom, tucking Professor Dumbledore's note into my bag as I went.

I made sure to close the bag completely this time.

* * *

"It's terrible, truly that such a thing has happened this year..."

I tuned Percy out as he led me to Dumbledore's office. I didn't see how Penelope put up with him. She claimed he really was a sweet person under all his pomposity, but I had yet to see any evidence. I'd tried to like him, for her sake, but I just couldn't. He was simply a hard person to like.

After what felt like ages, Percy stopped in front of a very ugly stone gargoyle.

"I'm to let you go up on your own," he said. "Just say the password, and the gargoyle will let you go by. Then you'll be able to go up. Can you get back to Ravenclaw Tower on your own?"

"I expect so," I nodded. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Goodnight."

He strode off, his chest slightly puffed out so that the Head Boy badge was clearly visible. I held back a laugh. He should just get the words tattooed across his forehead. With a sigh, I turned back to the gargoyle.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the password's Chocolate Cauldrons."

Apparently I was right, because the gargoyle moved aside as the wall behind him split into two. There was a spiral staircase behind it. It was moving slowly upward, like an escalator in a mall. Pride overcoming the foolishness I felt from talking to a statue, I stepped onto one of the stairs and the wall closed as I rose. The staircase went higher and higher in dizzying circles. I was relieved when a smooth oak door came into view. I stepped off of the staircase and knocked on the door gingerly.

"Come in!" a voice called, and the door swung open by itself.

My jaw dropped.

I'd never been in the headmaster's office before. It was a spacious and beautiful circular room. I could hear noises, which seemed to be coming from the assortment of strange instruments on spindle-legged tables. On the walls were portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of them seemingly asleep. There were bookcases that were practically overflowing with ancient volumes. My heart skipped a beat just looking at them. Sitting behind the enormous claw-footed desk was Dumbledore himself.

Seeing him reminded me why I was here, although something about the man seemed to put me at ease immediately. He peered at me over his glasses, his light blue eyes twinkling at me. I took the chair across from him and waited.

"It seems you've had a rough week, Alyssa," he said after a moment.

"A bit," I admitted.

A musical cry from the other side of the room made me jump. On a golden perch by the door sat a bird with crimson feathers and a long golden tail. A phoenix.

"This is Fawkes," Dumbledore smiled. "One of my oldest and dearest friends."

"Oh," I sighed. "He's beautiful, sir."

Fawkes seemed to approve of the compliment, because he rose from the perch and landed on the arm of my chair. Dumbledore chuckled.

"Apparently, hippogriffs aren't the only creatures you're gifted with."

I felt my cheeks growing warm. "I wouldn't say I'm gifted with them, exactly."

"Do you plan to work with magical creatures, Alyssa?" he asked.

"I've never really thought about it," I shrugged, stroking Fawkes's back. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do after I leave school."

"Professor Flitwick believes that you're very talented," he smiled. "He tells me that you've invented several charms."

"Well, just a few," I nodded. "And mostly with the help of my friends."

"Speaking of your friends...have they been supportive of you, in light of recent events?"

I frowned. "You mean, do they think I'm off to join Sirius Black and You-Know-Who? I don't know. Most of my real friends think the idea's rubbish. But others..." I thought about Jenna, who wasn't speaking to me, and shook my head. "Well, they're not sure. Most of the students seem to have made up their minds, though."

"I see."

He put the tips of his long fingers together and fixed me with a penetrating stare. I sighed.

"For what it's worth, I'm not helping anyone break in. I don't want anyone dead, contrary to popular belief."

"I know you don't," Dumbledore said gently.

"You do?" I asked hopefully.

"I do. But I must ask, Alyssa, if you know or have guessed anything about Sirius Black. Anything at all."

I hesitated, but only for a moment. "Professor, my mother doesn't believe that Black's a Death Eater. She says it wasn't like him to betray his friends at all. And...I think she might be right. But he obviously wants something from Gryffindor Tower. I don't know if it's Harry, or something else. But there must be something he's after."

Dumbledore gave me a long look. I really wished people would stop doing that. It made me feel like I was being studied all the time.

"Thank you, Alyssa," he finally said. "You may go."

I nodded and stood, smiling as Fawkes stretched out a wing to brush against my arm. As I headed for the door, I caught sight of the bookcases again.

"Professor?" I found myself saying.

"Yes?"

"Could I...may I...Would you mind if I borrowed a book?" I asked.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"Of course, Alyssa. Any book you like. Please, feel free to borrow books whenever you like."

I was beaming as I grabbed a book completely at random, deciding to trust Dumbledore's taste in books. The title was in runes, so I would have to translate everything later, but I didn't mind.

"Thank you, sir," I smiled, opening the door. "Goodnight."


	9. Chapter 9: At School for the Holidays

Chapter 9: At School for the Holidays

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* * *

"Are you staying here for Christmas?" Cedric asked.

We were standing just inside the front doors, marking off students names as they passed, heading for the Hogwarts Express. I shook my head.

"No, I'm going home. I promised Elena I'd wait for her, though. She's helping Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing today."

"I've wondered, why does she do that?" he asked, checking the name of a Slytherin first year off of his list.

"Madam Pomfrey's niece is Elena's sister-in-law," I explained, grinning at his surprised expression. "Elena just tries to help out where she can."

"Ah. Well, you should visit while you're home. Floo over. Mum and Dad would love to see you."

"Maybe," I smiled. "I'd like that."

At that moment, two third year Ravenclaw girls passed by. They took one look at me, squeaked, and scurried down the steps. Cedric and I rolled our eyes in unison.

"Honestly," I sighed. "If I wanted to help Sirius Black kill them all, I would've done it by now."

He chuckled. "Don't let the others hear you say that."

We continued checking names off of our lists. I glanced around for Elena, but I couldn't see her anywhere. Eventually, the hall was empty except for Cedric and I, and night had fallen.

"You didn't see 'Lena, did you?" I asked, frowning at my list. He copied me.

"No, sorry. Are you sure she was going home?"

"She said she was..." I shrugged. "I'm going to see if I can find her. You'd better go, the train leaves soon."

"Alyssa, you know they've got protective enchantments and everything, right?" I nodded. "That's why the train's leaving tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Like you said, it leaves soon. Way to throw Black off, I suppose, in case he tries anything. If you don't catch the train..."

"It'll be fine," I assured him. "Really. Professor Flitwick will let me use the Floo to get home if I need to. Go on, I'll see you soon."

"If you're sure..." he said hesitantly.

I rolled my eyes and waved him on. He grinned and we turned in opposite directions. The front doors closed. Now, then. Where would Elena be? Not still in the hospital wing, surely. Still, it was my best bet, so that was where I headed. I caught the first staircase before it moved, but as I walked along the corridor, I saw a tapestry move out of the corner of my eye. I whipped around, reaching for my wand, but it was only Fred Weasley. He froze when he saw me. Then he made his way over to me.

"Fancy seeing you here!" he beamed.

"What're you doing here?" I hissed.

"I'm George," he tried.

I huffed and crossed my arms, looking him over once.

"I'm not falling for that. I saw you leave half an hour ago."

"All right, Princess," he said, his tone horribly condescending. "Do you know what an identical twin is?"

"Fine...George," I relented, still not convinced. "What're you doing here?"

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"You just decided to take a stroll after curfew...?"

"I'm visiting someone in the hospital wing."

"Oh really?" I frowned skeptically. "I wasn't aware they'd extended visiting hours."

"You're hilarious," he said sarcastically. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

He set off down the corridor. I gritted my teeth and followed after him.

"You just can't stay away, can you?" he sighed. "I hate to disappoint, Princess-"

"Would you please stop calling me that?" I cried in exasperation.

"Calling you what, Princess?"

Even thought it was dark and he wasn't facing me, I could tell he was smirking. I opened my mouth, but the door to the hospital wing opened at that moment.

"Would you two shut up?" Elena hissed. "Come in here, but use your inside voices...sorry, 'Lyssa, but that means you."

"Yeah," Fred nodded sanctimoniously. "Use your inside voice...Princess."

Elena dragged me away before I could retort, which was probably for the best. She shoved Fred through the open doorway, whispering, "Don't wake him."

I glared after him. Elena looked like a longsuffering parent as she motioned me into the room. Fred walked over to his brother's bedside. George didn't stir. Fred sighed, greeting his twin.

"Ah, George. Guess we put a bit too much powdered bicorn in that one, huh? We'll remember to cut it back next time."

"Do you talk to yourself often, _George?"_ I asked, unable to keep from smirking. Then again, I wasn't really trying to stop. Elena rolled her eyes, climbing onto the bed next to George's and wrapping a blanket around herself.

"It took him ages to fall asleep," she said, stifling a yawn. "How about you let him stay that way?"

"What happened?" I asked, glancing over at the sleeping boy.

"Removed all his bones from the waist down."

Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn't that. If I'd had a drink of water, I would've spit it everywhere. As it was, I squeaked.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's not like it's the first time," Fred shrugged. I raised my eyebrows, then decided I didn't want to know. "Have you been with him all this time?" he asked Elena.

She nodded. "I fell asleep after he did."

"That's why you never met up with me," I realized.

Her eyes widened.

"I'm really sorry, 'Lyssa! I completely forgot..."

"It's really all right," I grinned. "Now we get to spend the holidays together."

She smiled and opened up her blanket to me. I slipped out of my shoes and hopped up on the bed next to her. We moved the pillow out of the way and leaned back against the wall. I looked up and saw Fred watching us, his expression unreadable. But then he seemed to snap out of it.

"What about me?" he demanded.

I shot him death glare number ten and pointed at the visitor's chair next to George's bed. It was a bit sad, watching him try to find a comfortable position. After a few moments of him tossing and turning, Elena sighed and reached for our neglected pillow. I snatched it from her.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Giving it to him."

" _Why?"_

"It's late," she reasoned. "I want to sleep, and he'll be quieter with that."

She reached for the pillow in my hand, but I held it out of her reach.

"Allow me," I said, smiling at her.

"Alyssa-"

I sat up and threw it at Fred, satisfied at the _whap!_ sound it made when it hit him.

"Ow!" he protested.

I beamed at Elena, ignoring her disapproving look and settling back against the wall. I closed my eyes.

"Why, thank you, Princess."

I jerked up again. Elena groaned and pulled the blanket over her head.

* * *

"How're you feeling?" I asked, sitting at the foot of George's bed. He grinned.

"Well, I can feel everything above my knees, so that's an improvement."

I didn't like the smirk he was giving me, so I reached over and clamped a hand over his mouth before he could say anything else. He laughed under my hand, and then,

"You licked me!" I shrieked, wiping my hand vigorously on my jeans.

"Shh!" George scolded, motioning to his brother, who was napping in the visitor's chair. I rolled my eyes, but quietened nevertheless.

"When did Elena say she'd be back?" I asked, moving so that I was sitting cross-legged.

"Dunno," he shrugged. "Why? Am I not good enough for you on my own?"

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I was just wondering. I hope she's not too disappointed that she has to stay here for the holidays."

At that, George's eyes dropped guiltily.

"I wish I hadn't landed myself in here. She'd be able to go home if I hadn't."

"She still could've gone home," I said. "But she told me that she felt like she needed to stay with you. Personally, I think you should consider yourself lucky."

I watched closely, and sure enough, George's cheeks flushed pink.

"She said that?" he asked.

I nodded. "The thing is, girls like Elena don't come around every day."

"You can say that again," he muttered, then promptly went red. I smiled at him.

"After all she's been through, with her parents and everything, it's a miracle she can still function like a normal human being. And a pretty amazing human being at that."

"What do you mean?" George frowned. "'With her parents and everything?'"

I bit my lip. "You don't know."

"Know what?" he pressed.

I sighed. "I don't really think I'm the person to do all the explaining. You'll have to ask Elena yourself."

"Ask Elena what?" the girl in question grinned, entering the room with an armful of books.

"Nothing," George and I said in unison. She raised her eyebrows skeptically, but dumped her books on the bed beside George's and flopped down next to them.

"Did you send a letter to Will?" I asked.

She nodded. "I thought you might want to write to your parents, so..." She grabbed a sheet of parchment from her bag and handed me her quill and ink bottle.

"Thanks," I sighed. "I nearly forgot."

"Will's your brother, right?" George asked. Elena looked surprised, but nodded.

"He was Quidditch captain when he was here," she said. "Charlie and Bill knew him."

"Ah. You live with him?"

"For five years now," she confirmed, giving me a strange look. I shrugged innocently, grabbing a book so I'd have something solid to write on and starting my letter.

"What about you?" George asked, throwing a wad of parchment at me. "Any siblings?"

"My little brother," I said with a sigh. "Jeffery. He'll be here next year. I think he fancies 'Lena a bit."

George quirked an eyebrow at Elena, who snorted. "He's just a bit too young for me. Anyway, it's normal to have a crush on your sibling's friends...and your friend's siblings. Isn't that right, 'Lyssa?"

"Shut up," I muttered; George looked _way_ too intrigued. I decided to steer the topic away from dangerous waters as fast as possible. "George, you've got six siblings, right?"

"...Right," he nodded. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, me, Fred, Ron, and Ginny."

"I always wished I had more siblings," I sighed.

"We're never bored," George grinned.

Elena and I laughed. Having finished my letter, I blew on the ink to dry it and folded it up, slipping it into the envelope Elena offered me. I got to my feet and stretched, casting a glance at Fred, who was still asleep. His head was propped up on his arm, and his mouth was hanging open. He was drooling. Not exactly an attractive sight.

"What a dummy," I said, rolling my eyes.

George chuckled, looking at me incredulously. "Seriously? Out of all the names at your disposal, you call him a dummy? What are you, five?"

"I've got a younger brother," I reminded him. "My parents are insistent on my setting a good example for him. It's ingrained in my brain now."

"Well, aren't you a good girl?" he teased.

I cuffed him lightly around the head and picked up my book, gesturing to Fred. "Do you mind if I-?"

"Please, go ahead," he said eagerly, sitting up straighter. Elena shook her head at us and buried her nose in a book.

"If he asks, I had no knowledge of this."

I walked up behind Fred and let the large tome drop to the floor with a loud thud. What happened next was much more entertaining than I'd imagined it would be.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Fred shouted, and promptly fell out of his chair. George, Elena, and I burst out laughing as he leapt up, wand raised for some imaginary attacker. His whole face went bright red as he realized what had happened. He stowed his wand in his robes, brushing himself off and muttering darkly.

George smiled gleefully, shooing me off before the moment could be ruined.

* * *

"Who'd you send that letter to?"

I jumped about a foot in the air, turning to see Fred standing behind me.

"My parents," I frowned. "What's it to you?" I brushed past him and headed for the stairs. To my dismay, he fell into step beside me.

"Just making sure you're not writing to Sirius Black." He said it like it was a joke, but I remembered the harsh glare he'd sent my way the day that Harry had first accused me.

I sighed. "If I was, why would I write to him while everyone's away?"

"Well, Harry's still here, isn't he? Everyone knows it's Harry he's after."

" _Does_ everyone know that?" I asked.

"All right, not everyone. But those who are good at eavesdropping do." I rolled my eyes at him. "By the way, did you know that someone dropped a book and woke me up today, when I hadn't slept at all last night?"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't kept the other person up by making ridiculous arguments, you would've both gotten a full night's sleep."

"Oh, so it's all my fault," he nodded. "That's fair. It's not like you were arguing, too."

I stopped in my tracks, glaring at him.

"You know," I said. "I was having a pretty good day until you showed up."

"I'm so sorry!" he said sarcastically. "What've I done to ruin _your_ day?"

"You're existing on this continent," I snapped.

"Well, then! Excuse me, _Princess!"_

"Stop calling me that!"

"Or what?"

"Is there a problem?"

Fred and I turned to see Professor Lupin standing outside his office door. He looked worried. I didn't have to wonder why; it couldn't be often that he found two students shouting at each other outside his office.

"It's nothing," I muttered. "Just...it's nothing."

"All right, then," he said hesitantly. Then he smiled. It was a knowing sort of smile, but before I could say anything about it, he had ducked back inside his office.

I turned to look at Fred. "I'm going to walk away now. If you follow me or call me back, I'll dock ten points from Gryffindor for being a nuisance."

He nodded solemnly, exaggerating the movement. I turned on my heel and walked back up the corridor. I wasn't sure where I was going, exactly, but anywhere Fred wasn't sounded pretty good.


	10. Chapter 10: Animagi and Idiots

Chapter 10: Animagi and Idiots

 **Hey guys!**

 **I'm sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. School and about a million other things got in the way, but I really am going to try to keep updating regularly.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter! Special thanks to _chocolatecheesecakes_ and _bellatrixD_ :)**

 **I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

I passed most of the holidays in the library. I found that it was much easier to work when there weren't many people there. Elena and George (once he'd left the hospital wing) usually joined me at some point during the day, although George's main goal seemed to be to distract us. He usually succeeded.

I'd never spent Christmas at Hogwarts before. It was strange to wake up in an otherwise empty dormitory and walk through the deserted corridors, but at the same time, I kind of enjoyed the peace and quiet.

A few days after Christmas, I headed to the library after lunch, only to find Hermione Granger sitting at my favorite table in the back of the room. She jumped when I neared her, and when she lifted her head, I saw that she'd been crying.

"Can I sit here?" I asked gently. Hermione nodded, quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I didn't think anyone else would be coming in here," she mumbled.

"I just thought I'd come up to finish my Arithmancy homework," I explained, sitting across from her. "What're you working on?"

She seemed to hesitate before answering.

"Muggle Studies," she said after a moment. "I have to write an essay on electronics."

"Aren't you Muggle-born?" I asked confusedly.

"Well, yes," she said. "I think it's interesting to learn about Muggles from the view of the Wizarding world. They see things so differently."

"I never thought about it like that," I smiled. "My mum took Muggle Studies when she was in school, but she still doesn't understand Muggle money. My dad always laughs at her."

"Is your dad Muggle-born?" Hermione asked.

I shook my head. "He's actually just a Muggle."

"Isn't your mum a Black?" she asked.

"She is," I nodded. "Or was. She was disowned."

"Oh." She looked surprised. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that."

"Why would you?" I shrugged. "I don't exactly broadcast the fact that my mother came from one of the most infamous pureblood families in existence. Most people don't know. Well, they didn't until a few weeks ago."

Hermione grimaced.

"About that..."

"It's all right," I assured her. "It's not a big deal. If the situation had been reversed, I probably would've been suspicious, too. I'm not mad at you or Harry or Ron or anyone. Except the gossips, but I can't really do anything about them. Besides, they can't really hurt me."

The bushy-haired third year chuckled. "Still, it wasn't fair for Harry to accuse you like that."

"It was a bit asinine of him," I agreed. "I mean, he started shouting at me in the middle of the Great Hall."

"Fair enough," Hermione admitted. "But he and Ron excel at being asinine when they want to be."

There was an odd tremor in her voice as she spoke, and when I looked at her closely, I saw her eyes filling with tears again.

"Here," I murmured, pulling a handkerchief out of my pocket and handing it to her. She muttered her thanks and wiped her eyes. I waited a few minutes before speaking again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I finally asked, wincing at how stupid the phrase sounded. I didn't even really know Hermione.

"It's nothing, really," she said, her voice still choked-sounding. "Someone sent Harry a Firebolt for Christmas."

My jaw dropped.

"A Firebolt?" I repeated. "Like, a real, actual Firebolt? The fastest broom in the world? That kind of Firebolt?"

" _Yes_. The thing is, there was no note attached. So I thought that it could've been dangerous. I mean, it's a very expensive broom, isn't it? And-"

"You think Sirius Black sent it to him," I realized.

"Well, yes," she nodded. "He could've, couldn't he? He could've tampered with it somehow. I told Professor McGonagall, and she wants Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch to look it over. I...I don't think I did anything wrong. Do you?"

She looked at me, biting her lip nervously as she waited for my answer. I smiled.

"I think you did the right thing. If Black really is after Harry, then it's possible that he sent the broom. It's a good idea to have someone take a look at it, just to be safe."

Hermione practically beamed. I couldn't help chuckling at how quickly she'd perked up. Remembering the reason I'd come to the library in the first place, I opened the Arithmancy book waiting on the table in front of me.

"Do you mind if I work here?" I asked.

"Oh, please," she said eagerly, clearing off enough space for me to set my parchment and ink on the table. "Do you like Arithmancy? I've only just started taking the class this year, but it's already my favorite, even if Professor Vector is really strict. It's so interesting how numbers have magical properties."

"I like it a lot," I grinned. "Makes a heck of a lot more sense than Divination, anyway."

"Exactly!" Hermione cried, prompting Madam Pince to shush us. She went pink. I pressed my lips tightly together to keep from laughing.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered sheepishly.

I shook my head, still struggling to contain my laughter. That was it. I was definitely losing my mind.

* * *

"Hello, Alyssa," Professor Lupin smiled as he opened his office door. "I was just about to make some tea. Would you like a cup?"

I nodded and sat in the chair that I was used to occupying by now. Lupin busied himself with the kettle for a moment before producing two chipped cups filled with tea. He handed me the cup patterned with roses and sat down across from me.

"What can I do for you today?" he asked.

"I just heard that you were..." I wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. He seemed to know what I was getting at, because he raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Ill," I decided. "I heard that you were ill during Christmas last week, so I thought I'd come see how you were doing."

Lupin chuckled. "I'm much better, thank you. Did you have a good Christmas?"

"I did," I smiled. "I got a lot of new books. Speaking of books, though, I have a question for you."

"Oh, yes?" he asked. "I'm all ears."

I reached into my bag and pulled out the book he'd given me. I set it on the table and opened it to the page I'd bookmarked.

"It says here that Animagi have certain characteristics that the people themselves have when they're human. I guess it's like how Professor McGonagall wears those glasses, and when she's a cat, she has markings around her eyes. Right?"

Lupin nodded. "That's the idea of it, yes."

"What I was wondering," I continued, "is whether or not there's a way to recognize an Animagus, even if you don't know what characteristics to look for. Suppose there's a cat on the pavement and you think it might be an Animagus. How could you tell for sure?"

For a moment, Professor Lupin just stared at me. I wondered if I'd asked a question that was impossible to answer. But then he smiled.

"That's a very interesting question, Alyssa. I'm surprised that you've thought about Animagi in such detail. I think, though, that if you're interested in pursuing the subject, then Professor McGonagall might be able to help you a bit more than I can."

"You gave me this book, though," I reminded him. "So you must at least have an idea of how being an Animagus works."

He gave me another one of those long looks that I was so used to. Then he sighed heavily and chuckled.

"If the animal doesn't act much like an animal...say, if a dog stares at a house for hours on end, or if a stag walks right up to you...then there's a chance that they could be an Animagus. But, as I'm sure you know, there have only been-"

"-Seven registered Animagi this century," I finished. "But...you don't have to be registered to be an Animagus."

Something seemed to shift in Lupin's eyes. He looked wistful, sad, and worried all at the same time.

"That's true," he nodded. "Technically, you can become an Animagus without registering. But it is illegal, and if the Ministry found out..."

"It wouldn't be good," I figured.

"Exactly. Does that answer your questions?"

"I think so," I nodded. "So, an animal that acts a bit...human might be an Animagus, and if you want to become an Animagus, you should register with the Ministry."

"Summed up perfectly," he smiled. "Now, it's getting rather late. You'd better get back to your common room."

Right," I said, setting my empty cup on the desk. "Thank you, Professor. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Alyssa."

As I walked down the empty corridors, I couldn't help wondering if Professor Lupin had a bit more experience with Animagi than he was letting on.

* * *

"Do you ever stop reading?" Fred asked incredulously as he and George sat down across from Elena and I the next morning.

"Why would I?" I said absently, not bothering to look up as I turned the page of the book I'd borrowed from Dumbledore.

"I can't even read that," he said, craning his neck, trying to read the book upside down. "It's not even in English!"

"No, it's in runes," I sighed. "If you ever went to class, you'd know that."

"The life outside the world of academic boredom is so much more interesting," he stated, helping himself to bacon. Elena and George sighed in unison. George tugged the book away from me.

"Oi!" I protested, reaching for it. "I was just getting to the good part!"

"Join the real world for a bit," he said, grinning at me. "You can have it back after breakfast. Now, eat something."

I stuck my tongue out at him and reached for the nearest platter of food. I froze with my plate half-filled. Harry Potter was sitting further down the table. Our eyes met briefly, but he quickly looked away, becoming very interested in his eggs. Elena sighed.

"Don't let it get to you, 'Lyssa. Eventually, they'll all stop being stupid."

"Maybe," I said, hoping I sounded nonchalant. "It doesn't really matter, anyway."

"I thought you had blue eyes."

Elena, George, and I all turned to look at Fred. He was frowning at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry?"

"I thought you had blue eyes," he repeated. "I swear they were blue yesterday."

"Oh. They probably were," I shrugged. "They change. What color are they now?"

"They're...I don't know. Grey-ish."

His ears had gone red again, so I decided not to pursue the subject. George was smirking at his brother, who was determinedly avoiding his gaze. I glanced over at Elena, relieved to see that she looked as confused as I was. It was awkwardly quiet for a moment.

"Anyway," Elena said, in an effort to break the silence. "Are you ready for term to start again tomorrow, 'Lyssa?"

I shrugged. "It's just going to get harder this term. I swear, it feels like we just got back, and half the year is gone. Those O.W.L.s are just going to sneak up on us. But I am ready to see some more people. I have to apologize to Cedric."

"Why?" George asked.

"I was supposed to visit him during Christmas holiday," I explained. "I forgot to write to him and tell him I wouldn't be coming."

"Oh, not another one," Fred groaned. "Are you part of Diggory's fan club too, then? I have to say, Summers, I never took you for the kind of person who would worship the ground someone walks on. Especially someone like Diggory."

"You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch," I snapped. "He felt really bad about that, he didn't realize Harry had fallen. He said that if he'd known, he wouldn't have caught the Snitch. It's not his fault."

"Oh, he said all that? I'm surprised he can string a sentence together."

I wasn't aware of standing up, but I found myself on my feet. Elena's eyes had widened. She grabbed my arm.

"No, I've had it," I said, shaking her off. "I've put up with this for weeks. Judging me is bad enough, but you can't go around saying whatever you like about my friends. They haven't done anything to you. Leave Cedric alone."

Fred sighed dramatically. "You two will be announcing your engagement any day now. What a perfect match! The Hufflepuff dunderhead and the Ravenclaw know-it-all."

"Hey!" George interrupted as I opened my mouth to retort. "Alyssa, would you mind accompanying me to the library? There's a book I'd like your opinion on."

Part of me wanted to stay and give Fred Weasley a piece of my mind, but my mind was working rationally enough to know that George was offering me an escape, which would probably be better for everyone. So I nodded and grabbed my bag, making sure to glare at Fred as I followed George out of the Great Hall. We didn't say anything for several moments as I waited for the urge to scream to disappear. He let me fume silently as he led me through the corridors, seemingly choosing his path at random. Eventually, my breathing evened out and I felt like I could talk normally.

"I don't like your brother," I said.

George chuckled. "I've noticed that, believe it or not. You know, he's really not that bad. He's just been acting strangely. I don't think he actually dislikes you."

"Could've fooled me," I muttered.

"I mean it," George said earnestly. "If you'd just get to know him, I think you'd like him."

"I don't want to get to know him," I scowled, stopping and leaning back against the wall. "And anyway, you're only saying all this to try and get into my good books."

"Why would I want to do that?" George asked, quirking an eyebrow.

I smirked. "Because you fancy Elena Michaels, of course."

George blushed, the pink in his cheeks clashing magnificently with his hair. My grin widened as I crossed my arms.

"...Am I in your good books?" he inquired.

"For now," I sighed teasingly. "I'm not going to tell her or anything. Although, I don't know how she hasn't noticed yet. You're not very subtle."

"Well, that's...yeah." He huffed and shook his head. "You're a piece of work, Alyssa Summers."

I laughed. "Funny, my mum says the same thing."

"I can't imagine why," he said with a grin. "I'd better go see how Fred's doing. If I leave you, you're not going to hunt him down and murder him, are you?"

"Can't make any promises," I shrugged.

He pinched my ribs as he walked past. I swatted at him, making him laugh.

"George!" I called as he walked away. He paused.

"Yeah?"

"...My friends call me 'Lyssa."


	11. Chapter 11: Dates and Hogsmeade Trips

Chapter 11: Dates and Hogsmeade Trips

 **Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!**

 **Phew. I think that's enough sorrys...one more. Sorry. Okay, there.**

 **I could make a lot of excuses, like the fact that I had a ton of schoolwork and was having an existential crisis...but let's not dwell on that! I've been working on this chapter for a week, so I hope you guys like it. I made it quite a bit longer as well, which is one reason it took ages. So, if you like the longer chapters, let me know and I'll keep writing them.  
**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who favorites, follows, and reviews this story. And an especially huge thank you to _bellatrixD,_ who was a big help with this chapter :)**

 **I still don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Do you think they'll find him?" Megan asked, her eyes wide and worried.

It had happened again. For the second time, we'd been hauled out of bed so that the teachers could search Ravenclaw tower for Sirius Black. Now we were all standing in the common room, too wired to go back to bed, even though they hadn't found anything in the tower.

"I kind of doubt it," I grimaced. "He's already broken out of Azkaban, and broken into the castle once, and he still hasn't been caught."

A nearby second year boy looked at me warily and moved a few feet away. I sighed and shook my head, not bothering to say anything to him. The night passed slowly, all of us huddled in groups around the common room. Most of the first years eventually dozed off. Professor Flitwick came in at sunrise to tell us that Black had escaped yet again.

"It was Ron that saw him," Elena told me as we walked down to dinner after class that day. "Fred and George's brother. He said he woke up and Black was standing over him with a knife. Apparently, Ron yelled and he ran for it."

"That almost doesn't make sense," I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, just...if Sirius Black really did murder all those people, years ago, then why did he run? Why not get rid of Ron and finish whatever he came to do?"

Elena raised an eyebrow. "You should be an Auror. Study how criminals think and all that."

I rolled my eyes and elbowed her. "I'm serious, 'Lena. Something isn't right."

She sighed. "You're overthinking things again."

I scowled. Maybe she was right. I shook my head as though I could clear my thoughts like I was shaking away water.

"All right," I said. "Let's talk about something else."

"Like what you want to do for your birthday?" Elena prompted, grinning when I sighed.

Megan had been pestering me about that, too. She didn't seem to believe that I didn't want to have a huge party for my sixteenth birthday. My plan for that day was to avoid the common room for as long as possible, as she was no doubt planning my party for me.

"I just want to finish the book I'm reading," I shrugged. "But if you're looking for a party, I'm sure there'll be one, whether I want there to be or not."

"There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend," she reminded me. "It's the day before your birthday. I'm sure Megan would settle for that."

"She's not going to Hogsmeade," I said. "She's got homework to do, apparently. Are you busy this weekend?"

"Oh." Her cheeks went bright red. "Well, yeah. I sort of...have a date."

I stopped in my tracks. Had George asked her out?

"Spill!" I ordered. "Spill right now!"

"Well, look who's such a girly girl all of a sudden!" she teased. "You know Carson? From Hufflepuff?"

I felt the smile on my face freeze. "I think so, yeah. Tall, has dark hair?"

"That's the one," she nodded eagerly, grinning broadly. "I ran into him a few nights ago in the library. We ended up talking for a while and then he just asked me out!"

"Wow."

"Did you just have a mood swing?" she asked. "You looked thrilled two seconds ago. Now you look like I kicked your puppy or something."

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I'm glad you've got a date, I just thought you were kind of...attached to someone else, that's all."

"Attached?" she laughed. "To whom?"

"Who do you think?" I asked.

The blank look on her face told her that she really didn't have a clue who I was talking about. She was silent the rest of the way down to the Great Hall.

* * *

If you wanted to have a conversation, Charms class was a good place to have it. There was generally so much chaos in the room that no one noticed or minded if you had a chat with someone. Unfortunately, George Weasley wasn't being a very good conversationalist at the moment. He kept glancing over to where Elena was sitting, working with a girl I vaguely recognized as one of the Gryffindor Chasers. He looked dejected; from what I'd gathered, Elena had told him about her date.

"George," I sighed, snapping my fingers under his nose. "Are you even listening to me?"

He blinked rapidly a few times. "Sorry, Alyssa. What were you saying?"

"I wanted to know what Ron said about Siri- George!"

He didn't answer this time. He'd already zoned out again. I shook my head in exasperation and returned my attention to the Color Change Charm we were supposed to be practicing.

 _"Colovaria!"_ The rat on the table in front of me turned bright blue, just like I'd wanted.

"Oh, excellent, Miss Summers!" Professor Flitwick squeaked excitedly, rushing over to me. "Let's see, who else wants to demonstrate? Miss Michaels?"

Elena grimaced. The girl could brew potions like she was making tea, but she hated Charms. She pointed her wand at her rat. Instead of changing color, it swelled to the size of a small dog. Several girls screamed.

Professor Flitwick quickly pulled out his wand. The rat shrunk back to normal size, but the damage was done. Elena had gone scarlet. She looked as though she'd like to melt into a puddle on the floor. Flitwick assured her it wasn't a big deal, he'd seen worse things come from spells gone wrong. Still, he suggested she practice the charm before our next Charms class.

"Be honest," Elena said as I caught up to her in the corridor. "How bad was it?"

"Not nearly as bad as that time last year when we were learning Banishing Charms and you-"

"Don't," she warned, scowling at me. I tried to hide my grin, but I don't think I was successful. Elena elbowed me.

"You know who could help you?" I said, after I'd elbowed her back.

"You?" she asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "I really wish I could. But I've been so busy this year. I'm juggling ten subjects, and then prefect duties on top of that. I've barely got time to do my own homework."

"Oh." She look disappointed, but shrugged it off. "Well, who were you going to suggest?"

"George." She raised an eyebrow. "What? He's actually really good at Charms, despite the fact that he doesn't show up for class half the time."

"True," she nodded. "All right. I'll ask him at dinner."

"Good," I smiled. "I'll see you then."

She waved and we headed off in opposite directions to our classes.

* * *

"Alyssa!" I turned my head so sharply at the sound of my name that I pulled a crick in my neck. Grimacing, I waved to Cedric with one hand, rubbing the back of my neck with the other.

"Hi." I smiled he fell into step beside me. "How're you?"

"I'm good," he grinned. "I wrote to Mum and Dad and explained why you didn't come over during Christmas. They understood, so you don't have to worry about them hating you or anything."

"I wasn't worried," I chuckled. "But thanks for clearing that up with them. So what-"

"'Lyssa!" I turned again, wincing as my neck twinged with pain; I needed to stop doing that. Fred and George were standing behind us, wearing identical expressions of amusement.

I sighed. "It's after curfew. You shouldn't be in the corridors this late."

"What're the two of you doing out here, then?" Fred asked, arching an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes and tapped the badge on the front of my shirt. "Prefects, remember? We're supposed to be out after curfew. You, on the other hand, are not."

"Yeah, sorry," George said, just as Fred opened his mouth, no doubt planning to retort. "Alyssa, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Um...I guess," I shrugged, glancing at my watch. It was nearly midnight, so it was nearly time for me to head back to my common room anyway. "Cedric, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Right," he nodded. "'Night, 'Lyssa."

"Goodnight," I smiled, then turned back to George. "Come on, then. You can walk me back to Ravenclaw Tower."

"Ooh," Fred smirked, wriggling his eyebrows. "Sneaking off together? Do you two need a chaperone?"

I wished I had a book on hand so I could throw it at him. A hardcover book. With eight-hundred pages. I settled for crossing my arms and scowling at him, which only seemed to amuse him further. George sighed and gave me a push down the corridor, telling Fred to go back to the common room. Actually, his words were a bit stronger than that, but it wasn't the kind of thing I'd go around repeating. We spent a few moments in silence, George walking with his hands burrowed in his pockets. Finally, I sighed.

"All right, what is it?"

He frowned. "Elena's date. What do you know about him?"

"Carson?" I shrugged. "Not much. He's pretty nice, from what I've heard. Kind of quiet. He hangs out with Cedric a lot. You'd have better luck asking him."

George wrinkled his nose and shook his head. I couldn't help chuckling. Merlin, he had it bad. It was a shame that Elena hadn't noticed. I nudged George with my elbow.

"You know," I said, "when Elena told me she had a date, at first I thought you were the one who asked her out."

"I was thinking about it," he admitted. "But I was afraid I'd screw everything up."

"And how would you do that?" I asked.

"I dunno...Elena's one of my best friends. If I asked her out, there are basically two ways it could go. Best case scenario: 'I like you too, George! I'd love to go out with you!' Worst case: 'Um...sorry. I just don't see you that way.' It would completely ruin our friendship, and I don't want that."

I took a moment to mull that over.

"Maybe you should've been a Ravenclaw," I said. "Overthinking is our specialty."

"How dare you suggest such a thing?!" he gasped, looking affronted.

I grinned. "Hey, a Ravenclaw's not the worst thing to be. We don't just sit around and read books all day, you know."

"Well, what do you do for fun? Assuming you have fun."

I rolled my eyes. "We have poetry nights. Debates. That sort of thing."

The look on his face clearly told me that he couldn't imagine anything less fun. I sighed and shook my head, glancing up at the spiral staircase leading to my common room, which we'd reached the foot of.

"I think I can make it the rest of the way on my own," I said. "I'll see you at breakfast, all right?"

"Right," he said, stepping back and saluting mockingly. "Goodnight, Lady Summers."

I snorted. "Don't call me that. Your brother calling me Princess is bad enough. Oh! And one more thing: if I were you, I wouldn't give up on Elena just yet."

"Don't worry," he smiled. "I don't plan to."

* * *

On Saturday morning, I ran into Elena, quite literally. We almost smacked into each other as I walked out the front doors of the school.

"Hey!" I laughed, grabbing her shoulder to steady her. "I thought you and Carson would have already left!"

"We were just going to meet there," she shrugged, just as a voice behind me called, "Elena!"

Carson was fairly handsome, with raven hair and blue eyes. He had a good ten inches on me, although that wasn't saying much. I was short, as Fred Weasley had taken to pointing out recently.

"Hi," Elena smiled, her cheeks coloring slightly.

"I know we planned to meet there," Carson said. "But I was hoping I could walk to the village with you."

Elena and I exchanged looks, and he added, "Or I could walk with the two of you?"

Oh no. No, no, no. I was not going to get stuck third-wheeling this date. Not for all the Galleons in the world.

"It's fine. I'll walk with someone else," I shrugged. "I'll see you later, 'Lena."

"Who're you going with?" she asked, looking concerned. "I thought Megan wasn't going."

I glared at her, trying to think up a response. Before I could, however, a pair of arms dropped over my shoulders, making me jump. The Weasley twins grinned down at me. I sighed.

"I guess I'm walking with them."

"Did I hear that right?" Fred asked. "Her Highness is going with us?"

"Not going," I corrected. "Walking. _Big_ difference."

"Who cares?" he grinned. "Let's go...walk."

Before I could protest, he'd linked arms with me and was pulling me along. I glanced back at Elena. She was trying to look sympathetic, but failed miserably, as she was barely concealing a smirk. I stuck my tongue out at her and turned around again, trying to tug my arm away from Fred.

"If you don't remove your arm, Weasley, I am going to remove it for you."

He dropped my arm immediately, huffing and shaking his head. "Sheesh, Princess. Someone's grouchy today."

I took a step closer to George, scowling at Fred. "If you had my problems, you'd be grouchy, too."

"Oh, do confide," Fred pleaded.

"Let's see," I sighed. "Where to begin? Well, I've got my O.W.L.s in a few months, and I have ten of those to take, plus all the homework I have to get through to know everything for the exams. On top of that, I've got prefect stuff to do. So there's my sleep schedule ruined. Oh, and there's the minor fact that people think I'm secretly helping a mass murderer. And to top it all off, there's this guy who won't stop annoying me."

"Whoever could it be?" Fred asked in mock surprise. "Diggory? I'm sure he can be irritating."

"Nope. Not Cedric."

"Ah well. Why can't you just ignore the guy?"

"I've tried," I glowered. "He won't let me."

"So he's always on your mind?"

Where was a hardcover book when I needed one?

"In a 'I-fantasize-about-strangling-him' kind of way, yes."

"Ooh, that's harsh."

"You know," George interrupted. "I'd just love to watch you two go at it, but if you're just going to do this the whole way to the village, why are we walking together?"

"I refuse to be a third-wheel on Elena's date," I said firmly. "You don't have to put up with me once we reach Hogsmeade."

"But it wouldn't be proper to let you wander the streets alone!" Fred gasped, looking horrified at the very thought.

I snorted. "I think I can handle myself for an afternoon."

He sighed. "If you insist. So what're your plans for the day?"

I eyed him suspiciously, then shrugged. "I want to go to the bookstore. There's this journal I've been wanting, so I figure it can be my birthday present to myself."

"It's your birthday?" he asked sharply.

"No, it's tomorrow," I corrected.

"Oh. And you're getting yourself a present? That's just sad, Summers."

I rolled my eyes. "It's just something I've been wanting, and now I have the chance to get it. It's got an enchanted lock, so if you're like me and have a nosy younger brother, they can't get into it."

"Makes sense," he nodded. "Well, if we have to let you wander around all alone, you should at least walk back with us."

I bit my lip and glanced over at George, who had been oddly quiet for a while. To my bemusement, he was smirking. When he saw me looking at him, he only shrugged.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," I decided. "Since Elena will probably still be out."

The smirk disappeared. George's face clouded over, making me feel a bit guilty. Fred didn't seem to notice. He was beaming.

"Excellent! We'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks!"

"All right, all right," I grumbled as we approached the Hogsmeade High Street. "I'll be there."

"Good." He grabbed George's arm and steered him toward Zonko's Joke Shop. "Come on, Georgie, we have to get the extra-splatter ink for..." I raised an eyebrow and he stopped abruptly. "Excuse us. We have business to discuss."

I shook my head, deciding against asking what they wanted extra-splatter ink for. I didn't really want to know.

* * *

My afternoon was divided between Honeydukes and the bookshop. I spent a while fuming because the journal that I had had my eye on was gone. According to the woman in the shop, someone had bought it not five minutes before I entered the store. There was nothing to be done about it, though, so I bought a few new textbooks while I was there before heading back toward The Three Broomsticks to meet Fred and George.

As I walked down the street toward the pub, I saw Elena and Carson standing outside it. I slowed, not wanting to interrupt something. As I watched, Carson said something to Elena, then leaned down and kissed her cheek before disappearing inside The Three Broomsticks. I approached Elena cautiously.

"That looked like things went well," I noted, shifting my shopping bag from one hand to the other.

She sighed. "No, Alyssa, that actually bit the dust...and chewed. And swallowed. And got another mouthful-"

"What happened?" I asked incredulously. "He looked really nice!"

"He _is_ really nice," she agreed. "But we're not going to be seeing each other again."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"Well...'Lyssa, do you remember telling me that you thought I was already attached to someone?" I nodded. "Was it George?"

"Well...yeah," I admitted. "But I thought you didn't get it."

"I didn't...until today. I figured it out. Or rather, Carson figured it out and explained it to me."

I raised an eyebrow. "And how, exactly, did that go down?"

"No, no," she said hurriedly. "He was really nice about it, actually. I saw Fred and George around earlier. I don't know...Carson backed off. He said he thought maybe I fancy George. And...I think I do."

I didn't mean to, but I was beaming. Elena frowned.

"Alyssa, quit. You're freaking me out."

"Sorry," I chuckled. "So you fancy George. Now what?"

"I...don't know," she said, with a very un-Elena-ish giggle. "You won't tell him, will you?"

"Of course not," I assured her. "I'm going to let you do that."

"Good," she sighed. "I mean...never mind. Where're you headed?"

I gestured toward the pub in front of us. "Here, actually. I'm meeting Fred and George here."

She looked at me like I'd dropped from Mars.

"Why?"

"Oh, let's see," I said sarcastically. "Your impatient date ran me off, so Fred dragged me along, which George didn't stop, by the way. And then Fred decided I couldn't walk back to the castle by myself, and I figured you'd still be...out. So they insisted on giving me all the twin half-wit pleasure I could possibly stand in a single day."

Elena grinned and shook her head in amusement. "Well, I'm glad they did."

"You would be," I muttered.

"C'mon," she coaxed. "It was nice of Fred to look out for you."

"Nice...annoying, sexist, presumptuous..."

"Let's just go inside," Elena sighed, pulling me along with her.

Even though it was crowded inside The Three Broomsticks, we found Fred and George fairly easily. With hair like theirs, they really weren't too hard to spot. They were sitting toward the back of the room...at a table for two.

"Hey, guys!" Elena chirped, making them look up.

George's cheeks colored slightly. "I thought you were on a date?

"I was," Elena said, glancing uneasily at me. "But we decided to spend the rest of the day with our friends."

"Why-"

"What's with the table?" I interrupted, hoping to change the topic.

Fred grinned at me. "Sorry, love. We were only expecting three."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm only seeing two seats."

He shrugged. "We figured you could just sit on my lap."

I felt my cheeks growing warm and scowled, wondering if I could burn a hole through his stupid head if I glared hard enough.

"Fat chance," I snapped. "Come on, Elena."

We moved over to a larger table, but the twins followed us, Fred seating himself right next to me. I groaned.

"You're getting what you deserve," George informed me teasingly. "You're the one who invited yourself along this morning."

"Just because I didn't want to get stuck third-wheeling Elena's date," I reminded him.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," he said with an exaggerated wink, before turning to Elena. "Speaking of your date, how'd it go?"

Elena fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair. "Um...he's a pretty great guy..."

Before I could say anything to help her, Fred beat me to it. But I wish he hadn't.

"What's in the bag, Princess?" he asked, nudging me with his elbow.

I rolled my eyes. "My books. What else would they be?"

"Just because the bookshop's logo is on the bag doesn't necessarily mean that's what you've got in there," he argued.

"Oi," George muttered. "I'm going to get your drinks."

Elena said something to him, but I didn't catch it because Fred was asking what kind of books I had.

"School. Books," I said through clenched teeth. I'd rather not cause a scene in the middle of the pub.

I should've just kept my mouth shut altogether. He didn't stop pestering me after that. Apparently, I was lying, and could have any sort of books in my bag, several of which he insisted on describing in great detail. I managed to finish my butterbeer, but I had a hard time resisting the urge to dump it on him. At some point, George had gone to wait outside, Elena going after him after a few minutes. The moment I finished my drink, I stood up and left. Fred followed me, still insisting I tell him what sort of books I'd bought. I ignored him.

"Ready to go?" Elena asked as we reached them. She linked arms with me when I nodded and we started back toward the castle. "So, what did you do today?"

"I wandered through the bookstore and Honeydukes," I shrugged. "I didn't get that journal I wanted. Someone got to it before I could."

She looked sympathetic, but she didn't get the chance to say anything, because at that moment, Fred Weasley ran by and snatched one of my bags. I sighed exasperatedly and ran after him, demanding he return them. He skipped down the street, ignoring me as he tried to unwrap one of my books. I caught up to him eventually, but he held the partially unwrapped book above his head, where I had no hope of reaching it.

"You can have it back once I've seen it!" he said, pulling the rest of the paper off to reveal my copy of _Advanced Rune Translation._ His jaw dropped. He looked horrified.

"I don't know what you were expecting," I sighed, grabbing my bag from him and holding out my hand for the book. He gave it back to me and we made our way back to Elena and George, who had taken my place by her side. I smirked at her as I put the book back in my bag, making her go pink. Fred took George's other side, shaking his head in dismay.

"What's with you?" George frowned.

"It was a bag of...textbooks." He shuddered. "Nothing but boring, educational textbooks."

"I told you so," I murmured.

After that, it was a relatively quiet walk back to the castle.


	12. Chapter 12: Birthday Surprises

Chapter 12: Birthday Surprises

 **Hey guys!**

 **As always, I want to thank everyone who follows, favorites, and reviews. I've been having kind of a tough time lately, and you guys never fail to brighten my day. I want to say an extra-special thank-you to _CrowningAster,_ who took the time to review all of my chapters and gave me some really great advice. She has an amazing Fred/OC fic called _Resurgence,_ so I definitely recommend that you check that out.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter!**

* * *

"'Lyssa!"

I shrieked and tried to scramble out of bed as Megan jumped on me. I only succeeded in landing in the floor with the sheets tangled around me.

"Happy birthday!" Megan sang, hopping up and doing a little dance. "Open your presents!"

"I just woke up, Megan," I grumbled, disentangling myself from the sheets. "Give me a minute."

I glanced around the dorm. "Where is everyone?"

"They're probably out getting everything read...I mean, they're at breakfast." I shook my head in amusement. I hoped she never had a secret of real importance to keep.

"Here!" she said, thrusting a brightly wrapped package into my arms. "This one's from me."

She'd gotten me a bottle of vanilla perfume, but I barely had time to thank her before she took it from me and handed me another present. We carried on like that for what seemed like ages, until finally, there was only one left. It was completely different than the others, wrapped in plain brown paper. There was no note. I tore the paper away and gasped.

In my hand was a journal. The same journal I'd wanted to buy the day before. Its cover was made of leather, with a tree painted on the front. The tree had been what had drawn me to this journal in the first place. It must have been charmed, because the leaves, tinted silver and gold, seemed to sway slightly, as though from an invisible breeze. It was beautiful.

"What's that?" Megan inquired, peering over my shoulder. She inhaled sharply. "Oh, 'Lyssa. Who sent you _that?_ It's gorgeous!"

"I...don't know," I said, looking at the paper again. "Whoever it was, they forgot to write a note."

"Or maybe they didn't forget," she breathed. Suddenly, she gave a little squeal...directly into my ear. I jumped, moving away from her quickly.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

She shook her head, beaming and clapping her hands. "Maybe you've got a secret admirer!"

I started to protest, but it was too late. Megan was a romantic, and she was now firmly convinced that someone in this school was hopelessly in love with me.

"I mean, who else would send you something like that? Only someone who had been paying attention would know that you wanted it. Besides, if it was a friend, they'd have written a note, right? So you must have an admirer!"

She rambled on like that all the way down to breakfast. She even followed me to sit at the Gryffindor table. Elena grinned at us and slid further up the bench to make room.

"Happy birthday, 'Lyssa!" she exclaimed, hugging me. "Did you like that set of books I got you?

"They look really interesting," I nodded, then gestured to Megan. "If this one would remember to breathe, I would have had time to crack the first one open this morning. Where're Fred and George?"

As if my words had conjured them up, the twins sat down across from us, identical grins on their faces. They then proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday," loudly and slightly off-key, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall. I buried my face in my hands, feeling my cheeks grow hot. When they finished, Dumbledore led the applause. I refused to look up for five minutes, and then it was only because George asked me what I'd gotten for my birthday. I ran down the list of my presents for him, making sure to thank him for the box of Sugar Quills.

"Oh," I added, pulling my journal out of my bag. "I got this, too." I looked at he and Elena. "Did either of you get me this?"

They both shook their heads. I sighed and set it on the table, absently tracing the trunk of the tree. Megan had been bouncing in her seat, but now she exploded.

"I think Alyssa's got an admirer!" she announced.

"Megan!" I hissed, but she just beamed.

"What makes you think that?" Fred asked, frowning.

She proceeded to give him all the "evidence" in one breath. It was a romantic sort of gift, it was something I'd really wanted... I glanced at Elena, hoping to find sympathy, but she seemed genuinely intrigued as to what Megan was saying. I rolled my eyes.

"Someone must like her," Megan said, finally done prattling. "Oh, and I'm Megan Mitchell, by the way, in case you didn't know."

I couldn't help chuckling at the blank looks on Fred and George's faces. They looked like she'd clubbed them over the heads with their Beaters' bats. Then again, I must've looked that way the first time she explained it to me.

"She reads too many romance novels," I explained.

"You don't have any idea who sent you the journal?" Fred asked.

I shrugged. "Not yet, really. But whoever it was, it was nice of them."

He nodded, glanced briefly at the journal, and went back to his food. Boys...

* * *

"Alyssa?"

I glanced up from my book to find Hermione Granger standing over me. I smiled.

"Hi, Hermione. What can I do for you?"

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Of course you can," I nodded, moving some of my books to make room for her. "What are you working on today?"

"I want to get through my Charms and Ancient Runes homework tonight," she sighed, setting a stack of books on the table with a thump.

I peered at her closely. She looked nearly as tired and worn out as Professor Lupin. She had the same shadows under her eyes, and her eyes looked fragile, as though she was ready to cry.

"Is everything all right?" I asked carefully.

She bit her lip and nodded slowly. I raised an eyebrow.

"You can talk to me, Hermione. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

"I..."she hesitated. "Oh, all right. It sounds silly, to say it out loud, but...well, Ron's rat died."

I nodded. "George told me about that. Is that what's bothering you?"

"Kind of. Ron's convinced himself that my cat ate his rat. He can't prove that Crookshanks did it, but now he's expecting me to apologize for it!"

I frowned. Personally, I thought that Ron was probably right. Somehow, though, that didn't feel like the right thing to say to Hermione.

"I'm sure he's just upset," I said instead. "He'll come around eventually. But is that's all that's wrong? You look exhausted, Hermione. How many classes are you actually taking?"

"Twelve," she admitted. "All of them."

My jaw dropped. "Twelve? How on earth are you managing that?"

"Oh...just good time management, I suppose. By the way, it's your birthday today, isn't it?"

I rolled my eyes inwardly at her hasty subject change, but decided against pressing her. "It is, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, the whole school sort of knows after Fred and George sang 'Happy Birthday' in the middle of the Great Hall."

"Ah, right," I grimaced. "I was trying to repress that memory. Thanks for bringing it back up."

"Sorry," she chuckled. "So, it's your birthday. Why are you hiding in here?"

"A couple of my friends are throwing me a party," I explained. "Even though I practically begged them not to. So I'm trying to avoid my common room for as long as I possibly can. If I'm lucky, it'll nearly be over by the time I get there."

"I thought I heard someone talking about a party when I went to the toilet between classes."

I sighed. "Was it a blonde Ravenclaw girl?"

"I think so," Hermione said. "She was singing."

"That'd be Megan," I grinned, albeit exasperatedly. "She's...something else."

Hermione laughed. "Well, I hope you get out of the party."

"Thanks," I chuckled. "So do I. Maybe I'll be able to stay he-"

"Summers!"

I groaned as Fred Weasley strode into the library, beaming at Madam Pince. She shot him a withering look, but that didn't seem to faze him as he made his way over to my table. He slid into the chair next to me, propping his chin up on his hand.

"Hello," he said, grinning crookedly.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "What do you want?"

"Well, I was invited to a certain someone's birthday party, but then I found out she wasn't coming!"

I crossed my arms. "And your point is?"

"Well," he said, mimicking my posture. "It's hardly a birthday party if the birthday girl isn't there, is it?"

Hermione, who had been watching us in silence, suddenly passed a hand over her mouth.

"What is it?" I asked, noticing the smile playing along her lips.

"It's nothing," she said hastily, clasping her hands in her lap. "Nothing."

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't have time to question her further because Fred had seized my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

"What're you doing?" I demanded, trying to pull away.

"I told you, the birthday girl has to attend her party."

"I have to get my bag!" I protested.

Fred huffed, but released me long enough for me to gather up my possessions.

"Bye, Hermione," I sighed.

"Bye," she chuckled. "Have fun."

With that, Fred dragged me out of the library. Madam Pince shot daggers at us as we left.

"I don't want to go to the party," I said, inwardly wincing at the whine in my voice.

"It'll be fun," he said dismissively. "George and I will be there. What more could you possibly ask for?"

"Speaking of George, where is he?" I asked.

"He went ahead to the party with Elena, I think."

I nodded, unable to suppress a smile. "They're cute, aren't they?"

Fred wrinkled his nose. "I'm way cuter than George."

"I meant that they're cute together," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Sure you did. By the way, how do you get into your common room?"

"Like I'd tell you," I snorted. "We'll see if you can figure it out for yourself when we get there."

He pouted, but didn't say anything else until we reached the door to the common room. I reached up to knock. Fred jumped back as the eagle's mouth open and the familiar musical voice poured out.

"Can a Dementor die?" it asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fred demanded, looking at me expectantly.

I shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "You tell me. You have to answer the question to get in."

"You guys don't just have a password?"

"Nope. And if you don't answer, we're not going inside."

He stuck his tongue out at me and glared at the eagle knocker.

"All right...can a Dementor die? Well, it's alive, isn't it? If it's alive, it can die."

My jaw dropped as the voice said, "Nicely put," and the door swung open. Fred smirked at me.

"Close your mouth, Princess. You'll catch flies."

I snapped my mouth closed and shook my head, pushing past him to enter the common room. I barely had time to register the fact that I was pretty sure I didn't know half of the people there before Megan accosted me.

"'Lyssa!" she all but shrieked. "What are you _wearing?"_

I glanced down at myself. As it wasn't a school day, I was wearing a sweatshirt that I was pretty sure had been Dora's at one point or another. It had The Weird Sisters' logo across it. Besides that, I was wearing jeans and trainers, which I deemed to be perfectly appropriate for what I'd been doing. Apparently, Megan thought different, as she grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs to the dormitory.

"I look fine!" I protested as she shoved a dress at me.

"And now you'll look better than fine!"

I rolled my eyes, but at this point, it was just easier to go along with it. So I got changed, even putting on the heels she tossed me. However, I drew a line when she tried to fix my hair. She'd wanted to straighten it, which I knew could potentially take hours, as my hair was curly and Megan wouldn't be satisfied until it was perfectly straight.

She was trying to talk me into it when the door opened. We both jumped, but it was only Elena.

"Sorry," she chuckled. "I should've knocked."

Megan waved her apology away. "Now that you're here, can you please tell her to fix her hair?"

"Tell her she can't straighten it tonight," I said.

Elena sighed and muttered something about not remembering signing up to be a mother. In the end, we convinced Megan to leave my hair alone. But they made me shake it loose from the plait I'd tamed it into. I didn't bother arguing as they played around with my makeup; it would've just wasted my breath anyway. Finally, I was deemed finished and Elena led me over to the mirror in Megan's corner of the room while Megan herself went back down to the party.

"You look beautiful, 'Lyssa," she said, smiling and squeezing my shoulders.

I _did_ feel nice. The navy blue dress floated just above my knees, layers of chiffon in the skirt making me feel a bit like a ballerina. My hair hung loose in long ringlets, apparently deciding to behave itself for the moment. I didn't look as tired as I knew I usually did, and I couldn't help a smile as I moved so that my skirt flared out slightly. Elena laughed.

"Thank you," I grinned. "You look pretty fantastic yourself."

Her black hair was in a French braid and her dress was a vivid red. Very Gryffindor, I noted. But then, I couldn't really saying anything, seeing as how my dress was blue.

We headed back down to the common room. Elena led me over to the sofa where Fred and George were sitting with Lee Jordan. They were snickering about something, but fell quiet as we walked up.

"Well, don't you clean up nice?" George teased, grinning broadly at me. "Don't you think so, Freddie?"

Fred didn't say anything. His ears had gone red again, and he seemed to be avoiding his brother's gaze.

"Hey, Elena," Lee said suddenly. "Do you want to dance?"

She nodded, smiling hesitantly, and they disappeared. George, I noticed, looked a bit miffed about this. I took Lee's empty place on the sofa next to him.

"I think I'm supposed to make sure you're having a good time," I said quietly. "But I'm not the hostess, and you look like you just swallowed a lemon."

George scowled at me. "Fred, ask Alyssa to dance."

Fred stared between us confusedly, but shrugged. "Summers, do you want to-"

"Nope."

He sighed. "Fine, then. I'll find someone else. Oi! Angelina!"

I watched as he got up and strode across the room to where a tall dark-skinned girl was standing. She grinned as he said something and they melted into the crowd of dancing students.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"You know who she is," George chuckled. "Angelina Johnson. She's one of our Chasers."

"Oh, right," I remembered. "Is she his...girlfriend?"

He smirked. "Why? Jealous?"

I scoffed. "Please. I'm more likely to pity her."

George elbowed me in the ribs before answering. "They're not dating, exactly. I don't know what to call it, honestly."

"Ah. And what should I call you and Elena?"

George Weasley could act cool all he liked, but bring Elena Michaels into the picture and suddenly he was blushing like the massive dork he secretly was. He muttered something under his breath that I didn't quite catch, and went even redder.

"You know," I said. "I'm happy to say that I know Elena better than a lot of people. I think...I think that if you got up the nerve to ask her out, you'd have a pretty good chance of hearing a yes."

His eyes widened. "You think so?"

I laughed. "Well, I can't speak for her. The only way to know for sure is to ask her yourself."

He nodded, more to himself than to me. We lapsed into silence, until I sighed and stood up.

"So, are you going to ask me to dance or what?"

He stared at me for a long moment, then burst out laughing, attracting the wary glances of others nearby.

"I think you just asked me," he grinned, getting to his feet and teasingly offering me his arm, which I knocked aside.

"Don't get any ideas," I warned, leading the way across the room.

I could hear him continuing to laugh as he followed me.

* * *

The party had begun to die down, although I could still hear a few people down in the common room. When it had started getting too loud for my taste, I'd retreated upstairs to the dormitory. As nice as it felt to dress up, I was more than happy to get into my pyjamas and start on the books Elena had gotten me. I'd been eventually joined by my roommates, who were talking excitedly about which guys had talked to them, and what had been said, and who asked them to dance. I had just successfully tuned them out when Megan suddenly cried out that she must've left her earrings downstairs, and could someone please go get them? All the other girls turned to look at me. I huffed in exasperation, but climbed off of my bed and grabbed the sweatshirt I'd been wearing earlier to put on over my tank top.

"Sure, make the birthday girl go get it," I grumbled, pulling the sweatshirt over my head and heading for the stairs.

The common room was emptier than I'd thought it would be. Only a handful of people remained, and most of them were getting ready to leave. I sighed, glancing around for where Megan could have possibly left her earrings.

"Why would she even take them off?" I muttered to myself as I walked over to the coffee table in front of the sofa where I'd sat earlier.

"You know, they say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness," said a voice behind me, causing me to jump about a foot in the air.

Fred Weasley was standing there, that stupid smirk on his face.

"You idiot," I said, releasing a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Why're you still here?"

"Relax, I was just leaving," he said. "I found these, though."

He held out his hand. Two silver earrings rested on his palm. I sighed in relief.

"Those are Megan's," I said, taking them from him. "I got sent down here to look for them."

"Mm. In that case, shouldn't you thank me for saving you a lot of trouble?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's likely," I said, rolling my eyes and withdrawing my hands into the long sleeves of my shirt.

"You look...different," he observed.

I raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think I was going to sleep wearing that dress and all that makeup, did you? You don't have to tell me I look gross or anything, I'm already aware of it."

"You don't look gross."

I froze. For a second, I wasn't sure that the words had come from him. But there was no one else within earshot.

"Thanks...I think," I said. "I...should probably get back upstairs now. Before they come looking for me."

Fred nodded. I slipped past him, heading for the stairs.

"Hey, Summers?"

I stopped on the bottom step and glanced back. "Yeah?"

"...Happy Birthday."

I felt my cheeks growing warm, much to my horror.

"Thanks," I said, turning away from him quickly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."


	13. Chapter 13: About Time

Chapter 13: About Time

 **Hello, everyone!**

 **As always, thank you to everyone who takes the time to follow, favorite, and review. And two extra big thank yous to _CrowningAster_ and _bellatrixD_ , both of whom helped me with this chapter. I'm sorry the chapter's not as long this time, but I'll try to make up for it soon with the next chapter. :)**

 **Enjoy, and review!**

* * *

As the exams drew nearer, I could almost feel the tension in the air. It surrounded the entire fifth year like a heavy, choking fog. Several students had already been to Madam Pomfrey for Calming Droughts, even though the O.W.L.s were two months away. Kenneth Towler actually came out in boils, although I was pretty sure that Fred Weasley had had something to do with that, because he and George had been snickering about it. It wasn't at all uncommon for me to walk into Ravenclaw Tower each night to find Megan practicing Switching Spells, or Kathy repeatedly reciting the twelve uses of dragon blood under her breath. That was why late March found Cedric and I sitting in the castle courtyard, using our textbooks to quiz each other on anything we thought might come up in our O.W.L.s.

"Okay," I said, flicking through _A History of Magic._ "So, how was the Statute of Secrecy breached in 1953?"

"Erm..." Cedric frowned, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "There...um...All right, I don't know."

"Carlotta Pinkstone," I reminded him."'Stop-'"

"'-Spell Suppression,'" he nodded. "I remember now. She wanted to expose magic to Muggles. She got into trouble for it several times."

"Correct," I grinned. "Okay, my turn."

"Right. Let's see...what's the main ingredient in-?"

"I have a problem!" George Weasley's voice announced from behind me. I groaned and closed my eyes.

"There aren't two of them behind me, are there?"

"No," Cedric assured me. "Just one."

I sighed in relief and turned around to look at George. "I'm not your bloody therapist, you know."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Are you coming?"

"I guess," I huffed, gathering up my books. "Ced, I'll see you later, yeah?"

"Sure," he grinned. "If you want, we can finish studying in the library after dinner?"

"I'd like that," I smiled. "See you then."

He chuckled and waved as George looped his arm through mine and hauled me away. I struggled to pull my arm away, but it was useless, as he was much stronger than I was and didn't seem interested in letting me go.

"So, what's the problem?" I asked, once I'd given up on getting loose.

"Remember the other day when Flint was harassing that girl after Potions, and I hexed him?"

I nodded. Of course I remembered, I'd been there. I'd written Flint's detention up myself.

"Her name was Mary, wasn't it?" I asked.

George nodded and took a deep breath. "She won't leave me alone now."

If he hadn't looked so distressed by this, I would've laughed. As it was, I barely suppressed a smile.

"George?"

"Yeah?"

"...You know you can tell her that you're not interested, right?"

"I tried!" he exclaimed. "But she kept going on about how I'm her hero and how she owes me. What am I supposed to say to that?"

"Um... 'Thanks, but I'm not interested.'"

He elbowed me. "You're no help, you know that?"

"Sorry," I sighed. "Look, the next time she's stalking you, or whatever you want to call it, you have to tell her no. Otherwise, she won't get the hint. All right?"

"All right. Thanks, 'Lyssa."

"It's what I'm here for," I teased. "Did you tell Elena about your new friend?"

"She's not my friend, she's just madly in love with me," he smirked. "And who could blame her, really? No one can resist my charming personality and dashing good looks."

He puffed his chest out. I rolled my eyes and poked him in the side. He winced and smacked my hand away.

We ended up walking the corridors and chatting until it was time for dinner. Fred and Elena were already seated in the Great Hall when we got there.

"Where've you two been?" Fred asked. "I thought you only wanted to talk to her for a minute."

"She's my therapist now," George said, as though that explained everything.

I rolled my eyes. "She's going to smack you if you keep talking about her like she's not here."

"Did you hear something, Gred?"

"Not a thing, Forge. Must've been your imagination."

Elena and I rolled our eyes in unison.

"How was your day?" I asked her, helping myself to shepherd's pie.

"Not too bad," she shrugged. "Do you mind helping me with Vanishing Spells tonight? I can't quite get the hang of it."

I sighed and shook my head. "I already told Cedric that I'd study with him after dinner. Tomorrow?"

"Sure," she agreed, although she looked a bit put-out.

"'Lena..."

"It's fine," she chuckled. "Enjoy your study date."

"Who's got a date?" Fred asked, apparently deciding to acknowledge our presence.

"It's not a date," I said, scowling at Elena. "Cedric and I were just going to study in the library tonight."

He didn't say anything. Actually, he hadn't said very much to me since my birthday. Half of me was relieved. The other half was a bit offended. I tried to ignore that half.

"George, you'll help Elena with Vanishing Spells tonight, won't you? Since I can't be there."

"I can, yeah." He glanced quickly at Elena. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it is," she said, smiling at him.

I rolled my eyes internally. I'd be saved so much trouble if they'd just hurry up and get together already. Megan had even started to take notice of the potential between the two of them. I'd had to order her not to meddle, even though she'd really wanted to.

I shook my head, clearing away the thought as I finished eating.

"Are you leaving already?" Elena asked as I stood.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm going to go ahead to the library, try to get some homework done before Cedric gets there."

"Well, don't work too late," she said. "You get crabby when you're tired."

I snorted. "Yes, Mother. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

Elena's PoV

"I still think you're cheating," Fred grumbled, trying to peer at Alyssa's cards over her shoulder.

 _"I'm_ the one cheating?" she asked incredulously, sliding away from him and closer to Elena.

The four of them were sitting on the wooden bridge outside of Hogwarts, playing Exploding Snap. It had been George's idea, suggesting that they take a break from all the work the teachers had been piling on them. He and Fred didn't seem very concerned about homework or their O.W.L.s, so Elena suspected that they were out there for hers and Alyssa's benefit. The air was still chilly, and Elena had forgotten to take her jacket outside, so George had lent her his, despite her protests that he would be cold.

"Can't have you freezing to death," was all he'd said, winking at her. She'd felt like her heart was tap dancing.

She liked him. She couldn't deny it. Just as friends at first. After all, she'd only been eleven when they met. Much too young to be preoccupied with thoughts of romance. Until recently, she hadn't realized just how much she liked him. It had scared her. She and George were friends, best friends, and she was terrified of messing that up.

It had taken her weeks to try to pinpoint the exact moment when she had started to see him as more than just one of her best friends. Of course, Carson had pointed it out for her several weeks ago, but she'd liked him before then. She thought it might have started during Christmas holiday, when she'd stayed with him instead of going home to see her brother. In the end, she'd decided that there wasn't really an exact point when she'd started liking him. Their friendship had just grown during the five years they'd known each other, and now there was the potential to be more.

If George said anything about it. Which, so far, he hadn't.

"Earth to Elena Michaels..."

Alyssa thumped Elena on the side of the head, jerking her back to reality.

"Ow!" she complained, rubbing her head. "What was that for?"

Alyssa sighed exasperatedly. "I've been talking to you for the past five minutes. Your brain is out to lunch."

"Sorry," she chuckled. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing, really." Elena shrugged, hoping she sounded nonchalant. "Hey, did you-?"

"George!"

They all turned at the voice. Mary Willis, a Gryffindor sixth year, was striding toward them, her heeled boots making sharp clicking sounds against the floor of the bridge. George groaned quietly and swore under his breath, although Fred and Alyssa looked amused. The four of them stood up as Mary approached. She brushed right past Alyssa and Fred as though they weren't there, stepping in front of them to give George a dazzling smile. She tossed her platinum blonde hair back, so that it smacked Alyssa in the face. Alyssa glared so fiercely that Elena wouldn't have been surprised if she'd burnt a hole in the back of Mary's head. She started forward, but Fred caught her around the waist and pulled her back to him, holding on to her a bit tighter than necessary.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Mary said, placing a hand on George's arm and taking a step closer. "Could I talk to you...alone?"

George's cheeks went pink. "We were in the middle of something, so I'd rather not leave. Whatever you want to say, you can say in front of them."

Mary's smile faded somewhat. "All right, fine. I was wondering if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday."

Elena didn't mean to, but she must've gripped her cards too tightly, because they exploded before George could answer.

"'Lena!" Alyssa cried. She must have magically cleared away the smoke, because when it was gone, she had her wand in her hand.

Elena could smell burned hair. Before she could ask, Fred burst into laughter, leaning against the bridge railing and holding his stomach. Alyssa sent him a disgusted look before turning back to Elena, turning her head this way and that.

"What is it?" Elena asked warily.

"It's nothing," Alyssa said hastily. "It's just...one of your eyebrows is sort of...singed."

Fred snickered louder, prompting Alyssa to give him a kick to shut him up. He scowled at her, mouthing 'Ow!' and rubbing his shin.

 _"Anyway,"_ Mary said, sending them an icy glare. "George?"

"Hm?" he asked absently, gathering up the cards.

She sighed impatiently. "I'm asking you out. Are you going to give me an answer?"

"I'd have to say no thanks," George said with a shrug. "I'm not interested."

Mary's false smile disappeared completely, her lips curling into a sneer. "That was why I didn't want to ask you out in front of them. Especially _her._ I knew you'd be uncomfortable agreeing to go out with me in front of _her."_

It took Elena a minute to realize that she was the one Mary was talking about. Alyssa opened her mouth, looking angry, but George beat her to it.

"Excuse me?" he said sharply. Elena stole a glance at him. He'd drawn himself up to his full height, his arms folded across his chest.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Well, come on! I can't even talk to you for the American freak attached to your hip all the time. Nice eyebrows," she added sarcastically, raising one of her own perfectly arched eyebrows at Elena.

"Are you really that big of an idiot?" George demanded, looking furious. "She's my best friend! You think insulting her is going to make me want to go out with you? I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot broomstick, especially not after the way you're treating her!"

Mary at least had the decency to look shocked. Her eyes started darting back and forth between George and Elena.

"Are you two together?" she finally asked.

"Yes," George snapped. "And all three of our eyebrows are very happy together."

Mary gave an indignant sort of sound, before turning on her heel and stomping back the way she'd come, now wobbling slightly as she walked.

"I could still get her from here," Alyssa muttered, her fingers closing around the wand in her pocket. Elena was too much in shock to say anything to her. George was standing next to her, his arms still crossed, breathing heavily.

"George..." Elena said hesitantly, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

He heaved a sigh. "Oh, to heck with it."

Elena was expecting him to apologize, or to say that he didn't mean it. She wasn't expecting him to kiss her. But he did. Despite the suddenness of it, he was surprisingly gentle. Careful, even. He slid one hand along her cheek and up into her hair. She couldn't help smiling against his lips. Fred's wolf-whistling was what finally broke them apart.

"Oh, you idiot!" Alyssa cried, smacking his arm. She looked stunned, but she was smiling smugly. "Took you two long enough. Guess my work here is done."

"What work?" George snorted. "You didn't do anything."

"Oh yes, I bloody well did!"

"You did not!"

"Would both of you shut up?" Elena chuckled, leaning on George's shoulder. "You sound like siblings."

Alyssa and George both rolled their eyes. Fred nudged Alyssa.

"What do you say, Princess? We could try synchronized kissing."

The last thing Elena saw before George pulled her in for another kiss was Alyssa chasing Fred across the bridge, throwing her Exploding Snap cards and threatening him with his life.


	14. Chapter 14: A Bludger to My Heart

Chapter 14: A Bludger to My Heart

 **Hi! :)**

 **So, this is going to be my last update until the New Year. This chapter is the longest I've ever written, and it's taken the longest to write, so I hope you guys like it.**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who follows, favorites, and reviews. I love hearing from you guys, it makes my day.**

 **Wolvesaremylife1: I've actually never read the Women of the Otherworld series. A friend of mine chose Elena's name, but I'm not sure if she's read the series. :)**

 **Enjoy this chapter! Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) and Happy New Year!**

 **Chaparrita xx**

* * *

"You look like death warmed over," George commented as I sat down across from him.

I rolled my eyes. It had barely been two weeks since he and Elena had made their relationship official, but he and Fred had already apparently decided that they had free reign to tease me as much as they liked, even more so than usual. I did have to admit (reluctantly, mind you) that their personalities, and the antics that went along with them, had started to grow on me. Slightly. Today, however, I was not in the mood for it. I'd been up until the early hours of the morning, ready to tear my hair out as I dealt with the avalanche of homework I'd been assigned. As if that wasn't enough, I had double Arithmancy first thing after breakfast, the thought of which made the idea of drowning myself in the lake scarily appealing.

"Do you say that to Elena after she's pulled an all-nighter as well, or is that insult specially reserved for me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Well, of course I don't say that to 'Lena," he smirked, holding up his hand, which was linked with Elena's. "I happen to like her. You, on the other hand..."

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, taking the plate he offered me and propping my Animagi book against a tureen on the table.

"That book is bigger than you are, Princess," Fred observed from where he was sitting next to me. "Then again, that's not really saying much."

"Jokes about my height and size are stupid and pointless," I said, not looking over at him as I turned the page. "You're not saying anything I haven't heard a million times before."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He opened his mouth, closed it abruptly, and went back to his breakfast in silence. I felt a sharp pang in my chest as I returned my gaze to my book, only to find that I couldn't quite focus on the pages due to the painful sensation – was it guilt? I knew I was cranky this morning and had probably come off harsher than I meant to, but since when did I feel guilty for shutting down Fred Weasley? I usually actually enjoyed it a bit.

I sighed and turned to him, struggling to come up with some sort of apology for biting his head off, but I had just opened my mouth to form the words when –

"Did you get the notice about the career advice, 'Lyssa?" Elena asked,

I nodded, turning to look at her instead of Fred. "I have to meet with Flitwick today, during Potions class. At least I won't have to deal with Snape today."

George sighed and shook his head. "Lucky you."

I grinned as Elena sent him an incredulous look. She had to be the one person in the school who really enjoyed Potions, just because it was her best subject. To Elena, brewing potions was as simple as one plus one equals two. Very rarely could Snape find anything to criticize when he looked into her cauldron, and she actually got excited when he introduced a difficult potion to the class.

She was weird that way.

I, on the other hand, was thrilled when I got to head up to Professor Flitwick's seventh-floor office rather than down to Snape's gloomy dungeon.

"Come in, please!" Flitwick squeaked when I knocked on his door. I pushed the door open, smiling at the sight of the tiny professor sitting behind his desk, a stack of books piled onto his chair so that he could see over the top. I had always liked being in Professor Flitwick's office. Sunlight filtered in through the large window, bathing the room in warm light. Flitwick had always told us that his door was open to any Ravenclaw with a problem. I remembered Megan telling me once that when we were in our first year she had been so upset when she went to him that he'd made cupcakes dance across the tabletop for her. Professor Flitwick waving me into the office was what pulled me out of my thoughts. I shook away the memory and entered the room.

"Hi, Professor," I said, sliding my book bag off my shoulder as I sat across from him.

"Hello, Miss Summers!" he beamed, pulling a tin out of one of his desk drawers and taking the lid off, displaying rows of tiny chocolate cupcakes, dusted in what looked like sparkling golden glitter. "Would you care for a cupcake? There's nothing like a wee bit of sugar to awaken the mind, I always say!"

"No, thank you," I chuckled. "I just had lunch."

"Ah! Right then, a well-balanced lunch is the key to a well-balanced mind, I always say!" he squeaked, snapping the tin shut again. I couldn't helping smiling as he obviously didn't realize the contradiction he'd made to his previous statement. It was no wonder the students all loved him. He was like the living embodiment of sunshine, rainbows, and pure excitement, all rolled into one. A human bumblebee.

"Well, you know why you're here, and it isn't just to talk about pastries," he said, winking at me as he slid his glasses to the tip of his nose. "Let's get right to it, then!"

He unrolled a sheet of parchment upon his desk, and despite the fact that it appeared upside-down to me, I could make out my name scrawled in loopy letters across the top. He studied it for several moments, nodding excitedly as he did so.

"Well, Miss Summers, your marks are excellent, just as I expected!" he squeaked, sending me another wink. "Any thoughts on what you'd like to do with that lovely brain of yours after Hogwarts?"

"I've been thinking about it," I admitted. "I thought I might like to become a Healer."

"Interesting choice! Might I be so bold as to ask why?"

I didn't know what it was – maybe it was the warmth and curiosity in Professor Flitwick's kind, twinkling eyes; maybe it was the haze of dust floating lazily in the light streaming through the window above us; maybe it was the sweet, lingering smell of the chocolate cupcakes in the tin on the desk; but something – something wrenched honesty out of me. I sat up straighter in my chair.

"When I was younger, about seven, there was an elderly man who lived next door to me. He passed our house everyday on his way to and from work, and if I was on the front steps, he'd stop and talk to me. He'd tell me stories about when he was a kid, or just let me ramble on about whatever I wanted. I don't even remember what he did for a living, but I remember asking him why he didn't retire and stay home. He told me that he couldn't stand the thought of rattling around in the house by all day, ever since his wife had passed away. He said it was better for him to keep busy." I exhaled deeply. "And then, just after I had turned eight, he had a heart attack. The doctors couldn't save him in time. I didn't realize what was happening until my parents sat me down and explained. It seems silly now, but I remember thinking that if I could do magic, if I was some kind of doctor, I could have stopped it from happening. That's not true, of course. My mum says we'll die when we're meant to, and not a moment sooner. But his death kind of fixed the idea in my mind, that if I was older, if I knew more, I could have saved him. And I guess that's what put me onto the idea of becoming a Healer in the first place, even though there's nothing I can do for him anymore."

Professor Flitwick was silent. I felt my cheeks warming in embarrassment. I hadn't meant to ramble like I had. Maybe I had told him more than I should have. I should've just said that I found Healing magic interesting or something.

But then Flitwick looked up at me and smiled again. "Thank you for your honesty, Miss Summers. I have to say, I wasn't expecting you to be so open. I'm quite honored, actually! "

"I wasn't expecting it either," I chuckled. "I'm just as surprised as you are."

He laughed. "Cheeky girl. Now then, shall we get back to the task at hand? I suppose you'd like to know what sort of training you'll have to go through?" I nodded. "Well, you're required to achieve at least an E at N.E.W.T level in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, and Defense Against the Dark Arts – I doubt you'll have much trouble there," he added, beaming at me. "After that, you'd have to apply to St. Mungo's Healing Academy for further training. I do have to warn you, though, it's quite difficult to get in, and even harder to make it through to graduation."

"Why?" I frowned. "What would I have to do?"

"To be accepted, you'd have to take a written exam. It's not easy to pass, but I have no doubt that with a bit of studying, you'd get the required score," he said, winking.

I couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips. "Professor, your faith in me is astounding."

"I have complete faith in all my students!" he said proudly. "As long as they work hard, there's no reason they can't do anything they set their minds to!"

"I agree with you there," I grinned. "So, what happens after the exam? Assuming I pass, of course."

"You'd attend an interview with the head of the academy. If they think you've got what it takes, you'll receive an acceptance letter, and your training will begin!" I opened my mouth to ask about the training, but I didn't have to. He was already explaining, carried away in his excitement. "There will be lessons to attend, of course. And you'll be required to spend some time as an intern at a Muggle hospital and, later, at St. Mungo's itself."

I felt my brow wrinkling as I frowned in confusion. "Why would I have to work at a Muggle hospital if I want to be a Healer? What good would it do?" I wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea, but I found it odd that they would want me to work at a place where I wasn't allowed to use magic.

"It's still important to understand the basic medical practices," Flitwick explained. "And it will help you get used to dealing with sickness before you're introduced to some of the more...interesting cases found in St. Mungo's." He chuckled.

"That makes sense," I nodded.

"Good! Do you have any more questions, Miss Summers?" I shook my head. "In that case, you had better head on to your next class."

He gave me one last smile and insisted I take a cupcake on my way out. I thanked him and left his office with a chocolate cupcake in my hand and a lot on my mind.

* * *

Athena perched on my shoulder as I walked over to the window of the Owlery. It was quiet here, except for the occasional hoot and the rustle of feathers. Still, it was quite peaceful, which was what I needed at the moment. The common room was packed with students studying frantically for the upcoming exams. I hadn't even been able to find a quiet corner in the Ravenclaw library. And the school library was even worse. You could practically feel the tension in the air, clinging to all of us. I shuddered at the thought. The final straw had been when Kathy had burst into tears while going over her Transfiguration notes. She'd been hysterical and most of her words had been incoherent, but I'd managed to catch something about being an idiot and not being able to take her O.W.L.s as Megan and I took her up to the hospital wing for a Calming Draught. Needless to say, the Easter holidays were hardly relaxing this year. After that, I'd retreated up to the Owlery for a bit of peace and quiet before I had to go back to studying.

"I could stay up here forever," I murmured to myself as I gazed out over the Hogwarts grounds. It really was beautiful here. The thought of leaving this place forever in just two years made my heart sink.

"You know, I'm really starting to worry about you," someone said behind me. I turned quickly to see Fred leaning against the doorway, smirking. "All this talking to yourself can't be healthy."

I rolled my eyes and returned my gaze to the view outside the window. "They say that people who talk to themselves are more intelligent."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, Princess. So, why're you hiding out up here?"

"I was _trying_ to enjoy the quiet," I said pointedly. He seemed to completely miss the point, though, as he joined me at the window.

"So," he said after a moment. "Are you going to bite my head off again, or was this morning a one-off?"

I suppressed a smile. "I guess we'll wait and see. Why're _you_ up here? Are you stalking me?"

He snorted. "No, Your Highness. I couldn't stand being in the common room any longer. It's a madhouse."

"Tell me about it," I muttered. "But where are George and Elena?"

"Probably snogging in a corner somewhere," he shrugged. I wrinkled my nose. "What? I thought you were all happy for them."

"I _am_ all happy for them," I said. "I didn't spend all that time talking to George about Elena for nothing, after all. But the idea of two of my friends glued together by the lips is less than pleasant."

"Fair enough," he chuckled. Then, "Hey...could I ask you something?"

I waited several moments before nodding, wondering what he could possibly want to say.

"Why do you hang out with her?"

I frowned. "Who?"

"Elena. Is it common for Blacks to associate with American Muggleborns?"

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I wouldn't really know. My mother isn't on speaking terms with her family."

"Why not?"

"She was disowned," I said wearily, opening my eyes again.

"How come? Did she wear the wrong color gown to a ball or something?"

I crossed my arms and turned so sharply that Athena hooted indignantly and flew back up to a perch.

"No," I snapped. "She ran away from home."

He looked stunned, but only for a moment. "Where'd she go? A rich relative took her in?"

"Try again," I suggested, narrowing my eyes. "She lived with a friend until she finished school. "

"And then what?" He was looking at me expectantly, seemingly genuinely curious.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked, glaring out the window. I didn't like talking about this, and I especially didn't want to talk about it with Fred Weasley.

"Well, there's not exactly anything better to do, is there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Look, I really don't want to talk right now. I'm going to go back to my common room."

I made to brush past him, but he caught my arm.

"You know why I can tolerate you, Summers?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Please tell me, I'm just dying to know."

"For all I know, you're filthy rich and have valuables hidden away somewhere. But you don't show off about it. You're like a normal person."

I raised an eyebrow. "...Thanks. But for what it's worth, I'm not filthy rich, and I don't really have any valuables."

"No? Your mum didn't take anything with her when she left?"

I sighed and wrenched my arm out of his grasp. "Shut up."

To my surprise, he did. I crossed the Owlery, heading for the stairs.

"What did your mother do?" he called out.

I froze in the doorway, my hand resting on the wall.

"What do you mean?"

"What'd she do after she left school?" he asked. "Where did she go?"

"I told you, I don't want to talk about this," I said, clenching my teeth.

"I'm just going to keep asking," he informed me, one side of his mouth hitching up in a smirk. "You'll have to answer sometime, if not now."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" I cried exasperatedly. "She got married! She married a Muggle!"

His grin faded right off his face. He was suddenly looking at me as though he'd never seen me before. I exhaled deeply, releasing a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Are you satisfied now?" I demanded. "I'm just as much of a blood-traitor as you are."

With that, I left, and he didn't stop me.

* * *

"George, you need to eat something," Elena urged, looking concerned. "Come on, anything. You can't play Quidditch with nothing in your stomach, you have to get your energy up."

It was the morning of the final Quidditch match of the season. Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The Quidditch Cup. The whole hall was buzzing with anticipation, except perhaps the Quidditch team. They all looked incredibly nervous. Oliver Wood, for example, had a full plate and had touched none of it, although he was urging his team to eat.

Elena sighed. "Oliver's right, George. You need to eat."

He grimaced and shook his head. He looked a bit like he was going to be sick. I sighed in exasperation and snatched up his empty plate, filled it with food, and set it in front of him again. He raised an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged. "You've done it for me enough times. Figured I could return the favor once. Now eat, because I have no qualms about holding you down so Elena can force-feed you."

"I'd help," said Fred, knocking his elbow against mine.

I glanced at him quickly. I hadn't spoken to him since the other day, and he hadn't said anything to me until now, although I occasionally caught him looking at me, opening his mouth as though about to say something, and then shaking his head.

I raised my eyebrow at George, who sighed dramatically and took a bite of his toast.

"Hey," Fred said, bumping my elbow again. "I got you something, since you're supporting Gryffindor today." He pressed a scarlet and gold rosette badge into my hand. "I figured you could use one of these."

I stared down at the badge, and back up at him.

"You don't have to wear it," he said quickly. "I just thought you might like it."

I smiled and shook my head. "No, I'll wear it. ...Thanks."

He nodded. As soon as Wood had decided that his team had eaten enough, he rushed them off to the Quidditch pitch. Elena kissed George on the cheek as he stood, and everyone (with the exception of the Slytherins) applauded as the Gryffindor Quidditch team left the Great Hall.

"They'll be fine, don't you think?" Elena said anxiously, looking a bit pale.

"They'll be more than fine," I assured her. "Come on, this is the best team you guys have had since Charlie played."

She nodded. We finished eating in silence and headed for the field with the rest of the school. Elena pulled Megan and I over to sit with the Gryffindors, finding seats just above where Lee Jordan was sitting with the magical megaphone used for commentating. Professor McGonagall was sitting next to him as always, probably so that she could take the megaphone from him if necessary. Nearby, Percy Weasley was sitting with Penelope, who smiled and waved when she saw me. I smiled back and was just considering going over to talk to her when the stadium erupted into deafening cheers. The Gryffindor team was making its way onto the field.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee shouted. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-"

I couldn't hear the rest of his sentence over the jeers coming from the Slytherin end of the stadium.

"And here come the Slytherin team," Lee continued, "led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill."

More booing from the Slytherins followed this statement, but I thought Lee had made a valid point. The whole team was huge, except for Malfoy.

Madam Hooch had Wood and Flint step forward and shake hands. I winced; they seemed to be trying to crush each other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch called. "Three...two...one..."

I assumed that she'd blown her whistle, but I couldn't hear it over the cheering of the crowd.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no – Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field – WHAM! – nice Bludger work there by George Weasley-"

I couldn't help chuckling as Elena beamed proudly. Before I had time to say anything to her, however, Angelina Johnson scored, and Megan tried to burst my eardrum with her scream of delight.

"OUCH!"

Marcus Flint had gone crashing into Angelina, nearly throwing her from her broom. I rolled my eyes as he insisted that he hadn't seen her. Two seconds later, Fred chucked his Beater's club at Flint's head, causing him to smash his nose into the handle of his broom. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties. Alicia Spinnet scored for Gryffindor, making the score twenty-zero. We all turned to watch as Flint flew forward to take the Slytherin penalty. Oliver Wood's jaw clenched as hovered in front of the goal posts.

"'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan assured the crowd. "Superb! Very difficult to pass – very difficult indeed – YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

Wood gave a tiny smile as the crowd cheered, still focused on the game.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession – no! – Gryffindor back in possession, and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field – THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

One of the Slytherin Chasers had swerved in front of Katie and grabbed her head instead of the Quaffle. She cartwheeled in the air, thankfully managing to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle sharply. Amid her shouting, I heard her award Gryffindor another penalty, which Katie flew forward to take.

"THIRTY-ZERO!" Lee howled in delight. "TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING – "

Professor McGonagall scolded him, but the Gryffindors around me roared their approval of his words.

It was, by far, the dirtiest game of Quidditch I had ever watched, and that was saying something, because I'd seen quite a few. The Slytherins completely abandoned the rules, using any means necessary to get hold of the Quaffle. Flint managed to score, and Lee swore so badly that McGonagall tried to take the megaphone away from. Beside me, Megan put her hands over her ears.

Gryffindor scored twice more, bringing the score to fifty-ten. Fred and George hovered around Katie Bell, who had scored the last goal, guarding her from any retaliation, which was a nice gesture...until the Slytherin Beaters took advantage of their absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood. They caught him in the stomach, one after the other, knocking the air out of him. I screamed as he rolled in midair, clutching his broom.

I'd never seen Madam Hooch so worked up. She looked ready to tear her hair out as she shrieked at the Slytherin Beaters, completely beside herself.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA! Gryffindor penalty!"

Angelina scored. A moment later, Fred pelted a Bludger at Warrington, causing him to drop the Quaffle. Alicia grabbed it and scored. Seventy-ten.

"We're sixty points up!" Elena shouted over the cheers of the crowd. "If Harry catches the Snitch, we win!"

The words had no sooner left her mouth than Harry zoomed upward, his arm outstretched.

"No!" I cried as Malfoy seized the Firebolt's tail, pulling it back.

Lee shouted abuse into the megaphone, but for once, McGonagall didn't reprimand him. Her hat had fallen off as she shook her finger in Malfoy's direction, yelling at him even though he couldn't hear her.

Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she missed by several feet. Her face was red with anger as she soared away again. I groaned as Slytherin scored again. Malfoy had encouraged them with his foul on Harry, and the Gryffindors were losing concentration.

"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina!" Lee roared. "COME ON!"

"Look!" Megan shrieked, pointing at the Slytherin team. Every player, except for Malfoy, was streaking up the pitch toward Angelina.

"They're going to block her," I realized.

At the same time I came to this conclusion, Harry Potter bent low over the handle of his Firebolt and shot toward the Slytherins, scattering them everywhere and leaving Angelina free to score, which she did.

"Eighty-twenty!" Elena cried. She was biting her nails as she watched, literally on the edge of her seat.

At that moment, Malfoy dived, his hand stretched out as he zoomed toward a golden glimmer a few feet above the grass.

Harry followed, gaining on him. He was almost there...almost there...

"Yes!" I squealed as Harry pulled out of the dive, the Snitch clutched in his fist.

The stadium exploded into cheers as the Gryffindor team sank back to the ground in a midair group hug.

"Come on!" Elena cried, catching my wrist and pulling me down the field with her.

I lost her quickly among the crowd, but I heard her shout George's name and turned just in time to see her go flying into his open arms. I was pretty sure he kissed her, but I didn't see because just then, someone wrapped their arms around me from behind. A quick glance behind me told me that it was Fred.

"We won!" he shouted in my ear. "We won the Cup!"

"I know you did!" I laughed, caught up in the euphoria just as much as he was. "Congratulations!"

I made to pull away from him, but he held on for another fraction of a second.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear. And then he was gone, lifted onto the shoulders of the crowd. I allowed myself a small smile as I followed them.


	15. Chapter 15: OWLs and OTFO

Chapter 15: O.W.L.s and Other Terrifying Flying Objects

 **So...hi.**

 **I'd love to have a good excuse for my ridiculously long absence, like that I was saving the galaxy, or that I traveled with a band of dwarves to help them reclaim their home from a dragon that sounds suspiciously like Benedict Cumberbatch. The truth is a lot less thrilling: I had some pretty bad writer's block. Add that to me generally feeling lousy and you get the hiatus that accidentally happened. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. :) I have to thank _CrowningAster_ and _bellatrixD_ for putting up with me through the writer's block and being such a big help. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I crossed my arms and glared at the dormitory ceiling. I didn't know what time it was, but I was sure that it was past midnight. I should have gone to sleep hours ago. The other girls had long since fallen asleep, after going over their notes one last time. You'd think that their deep, rhythmic breathing would lull me to sleep, too, but instead it was grating on my nerves, keeping me wide awake.

With a sigh, I gave up and swung my legs out of bed, opening my trunk as quietly as I could so that I could grab a sweatshirt. The lid slipped from my fingers as I was lowering it and the trunk snapped shut, the sound echoing in the silent room. I froze as Samantha groaned and rolled over, burrowing deeper under her blankets, but no one else moved. I sighed and stood, grabbing my wand on my way out the door.

I wasn't worried about getting caught as I left Ravenclaw Tower. Being a prefect came with several privileges, one of those being that no one would question why you were out after curfew. I found myself heading in the direction of the Owlery, almost as if my feet were going there of their own free will.

I couldn't stop thinking about my O.W.L.s as I left the castle, which I found frustrating. I was so distracted that I didn't realize I'd forgotten my socks and shoes until I stepped onto the grass and felt the cold, wet ground under my bare feet. I groaned. I'd have to remember to wash my feet before I got back into bed, but there was nothing to be done about it now, so I kept going.

As I climbed the staircase, my thoughts turned back to the exam that was waiting for me in the morning. I shook my head in an effort to clear away the thought. What I wanted now was peace, and the Owlery was usually the perfect place to find that. The only light came from the large window, where owls were swooping in and out, some of them holding mice and frogs in their beaks. I glanced up at the perches, searching for Athena, but I couldn't pick her out among the dozens of glittering eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move in the darkness. I instinctively drew my wand and Fred Weasley put his hands up in surrender, smirking.

"Fancy meeting you here," he said, arching an eyebrow. "Going to hex me?"

"Maybe," I retorted, nevertheless stowing my wand in my sweatshirt pocket. I paused to examine him for a moment. He was wearing plaid pajama pants and a red jumper with a gold "F" on it. His feet were bare, too, and his hair stuck up all over his head. It made him look years younger; it was easy to imagine him as a little kid. "What're you doing up here? It's the middle of the night!"

"I could ask you the same question," he returned.

"I asked you first."

He shifted slightly, almost as though he didn't want me to see something. I frowned.

"What's behind you?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, too quickly.

I shrugged casually and made to walk past him, turning back at the last second and lunging for the space behind him.

"Oh, no you don't!" he yelped, catching me around the waist.

"Oh, yes I _do!"_ I cried, struggling out of his grasp and reaching again. This time I seized the object he'd set in a niche in the wall. It was a book.

" _Intermediate Transfiguration,"_ I read aloud, staring up at him. "You're reading a book." I narrowed my eyes. "Fred Weasley, are you... _studying?!"_

"Don't sound so surprised," he grumbled, snatching the textbook out of my hand. "Maybe I don't actually want to fail all my exams."

"...Wow."

"Shut up."

I chuckled. "Well, I'll let you get back to it, then. Have fun."

I headed for the door, but he seized my hand before I reached the stairs. I froze, my eyes riveted to his fingers wrapped around mine.

"You have to promise you won't tell anyone you caught me studying," he said, his voice deadly serious. "It'll destroy my 'devil-may-care' reputation. Understand, Princess?"

I rolled my eyes. "All right, I'll keep your secret."

He sighed in relief and grinned at me. I couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips as I met his eyes. We stood in silence for several moments, until he glanced down. I followed his gaze and realized that we were still holding hands. I pulled away quickly, hoping that my face wasn't as red as it felt.

"Well...goodnight, then," I said awkwardly.

He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pajama pockets, taking a step back."Yeah. See you tomorrow."

I nodded and turned away, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart as I started back down the stairs. No way was I getting any sleep tonight.

* * *

The tension in the air was stifling. I glanced at the students around me. They were either quizzing each other on the material, or reassuring each other. We were about to take our first exam, the written Charms test. I told myself I wasn't nervous. Charms was my best subject. I knew the material, and besides, if I didn't, it was too late to do anything about it now. But my palms were sweating anyway. Beside me, Daniel was poring over his textbook, reciting spell origins to himself. Every so often, he'd remember that I was there and would ask me a random question. I guessed that I had a few more minutes before he started that up again, so I went back to observing the crowd.

Particularly, I found myself observing a certain redhead, who was standing a ways ahead of me with his brother. The two of them were laughing and cracking jokes for the amusement of the small crowd that had gathered around them. There was nothing in Fred's face to suggest that he was the least bit worried. In fact, he seemed to be the polar opposite of worried. I had to admire that about him. My thoughts drifted back to the night before. After I'd gotten back to my dormitory, my mind had refused to settle down. Instead, all that I could think about was the fact that Fred had grabbed my hand. I found myself replaying it over and over again in my head, until I could remember every little detail. My hand had practically been swallowed by his, it was so much smaller. His skin was rough and calloused, no doubt from years of handling a Beater's bat during Quidditch. And his hand had been warm, whereas mine had been freezing.

"Alyssa," Daniel said, touching my shoulder. I didn't turn to acknowledge him because at that moment, as Fred turned to beam approvingly at the crowd and his eyes found mine. I found myself smiling and mouthing "Good luck" to him.

He looked away quickly, turning back to George, who was saying something to him. I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach and returned my gaze to Daniel, who had said my name again.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was going to quiz you again," he said, frowning slightly. "Are you all right? You look like...I don't know. Like someone slammed a door in your face."

An oddly appropriate description, I thought. But I quickly forced a smile onto my face.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Ask away."

"Okay...when and by whom was the Severing Charm created?"

I sighed, searching my brain for the correct answer. It took me a few minutes to come up with it.

"It was created in the 1400s, right?" I said. "By...Delfina Crimp?"

"That's right," Daniel grinned. "All right, who-?"

I experienced an odd mixture of anxiety and relief as the doors to the Great Hall swung open to admit us. All the students fell into lines, and we stepped into the hall. The first exam was about to begin.

* * *

"This has been the most exhausting day of my life," Elena groaned, leaning against George's shoulder and blinking sleepily. He chuckled.

"Just think, we only have two weeks left of this," he told her, resting his head on hers.

I grinned at them. They were so easy together. If only everyone was so lucky. I stole a glance at Fred, who was sitting next to me, apparently too fascinated with his dinner to even look my way. I stabbed at my food with my fork, scowling.

"You okay, 'Lyssa?" Elena asked, sitting up straight and peering at me concernedly.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly. "Just tired. Like you said, it's been a long day."

"It really has," Fred put in. "In fact, I think I'm going to turn in early tonight."

George raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he watched his brother get up and leave the Great Hall.

"Is something wrong?" Elena asked, craning her neck as Fred disappeared.

George shrugged. "He might really just be tired. He went out sometime last night, and didn't get back in until early this morning."

"He went out? What was he doing?"

I sighed loudly, causing them both to look at me. "Whatever he was doing, he actually had a pretty good idea when he said he was turning in early. I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Elena asked.

I rolled my eyes as I stood. "Don't be such a mother hen, 'Lena. I'm fine, I promise. You two behave yourselves."

"No promises!" George called after me as I left.

I spotted Fred on one of the staircases off of the entrance hall. He was walking slowly, his head hanging. I coughed to announce my presence as I stepped behind him, standing two steps below him. He spun to face me, his eyes wide.

"Jeez, woman. Can't you make noise like a normal person?"

I sighed. "Sorry. Next time, I'll stomp across the floor so you can hear me coming."

"Are you going to make a habit of catching me on my own?" he asked, smirking.

"Hopefully not. Can I ask you something, though?"

"Just one thing?"

I crossed my arms. "Yes. Why were you ignoring me this morning before the exam?"

"Ignoring you?" he frowned. "When did I do that?"

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "When you looked me in the eye and then looked away without saying anything."

"Why would I have done that?"

Well, I thought that maybe..." I felt my face heating up. "I didn't know if you were just...embarrassed...about last night."

"Last night?" Confusion crossed his face. "You mean you catching me studying?"

"Kind of," I nodded. "But I meant when I was leaving, and you...grabbed my hand."

He stared at me for a moment, his expression blank. Then he grinned. "Oh. You thought..."

My face had to be bright red. I couldn't stand the patronizing look he was giving me. I fixed my eyes on his shoulder so that I wouldn't have to look at his face.

"Did I get your hopes up?" he asked teasingly. "I don't know how to tell you this, Princess, but me grabbing your hand was just...me grabbing your hand. No strings attached."

I opened my mouth to speak, but I found that I had no voice, so I closed it again.

"That's sweet, though," Fred continued. "And you obviously have good taste, so you'll have no trouble finding someone."

I clenched my hand into a fist, my nails digging into my palm. My cheeks were burning. All I wanted was for him to leave.

"I'm going to go now," Fred announced, like the parent of an overly clingy child. "I'll see you tomorrow."

To my indignation, he tousled my hair, winked at me, and went on his way, sauntering up the stairs. I remained frozen in place until the students started trailing out of the Great Hall. I couldn't have been more stunned if he had slapped me in the face. I felt almost numb, except for the sharp pain in the pit of my stomach. I blinked once, twice, to get my bearings and hurried up the stairs.

* * *

The corridors were eerily quiet at night. The only sound came from my shoes clicking on the flagstone floor as I paced back and forth. I technically should have been patrolling the whole floor, but I couldn't find the motivation to actually do it. Besides, it wasn't as though Sirius Black was going to suddenly appear on the sixth floor of the castle. So I gave myself a little leeway, and settled for just wandering the one corridor.

The exams had completely sapped my energy, or so it seemed. In addition to that, Elena and Megan had both been pestering me, demanding to know what was wrong. I had only told them that I hadn't been feeling well, which was partially true. Ever since my conversation with Fred, he had barely bothered to speak to me, and when he did, it was in that horrible condescending tone he'd used before, which caused a cocktail of anger and embarrassment to bubble in my chest. I still didn't know what to make of that. That night in the Owlery, I had thought that...well, that there could have been something. But he apparently thought otherwise.

"What am I going to do with you, Fred Weasley?" I sighed, brushing a stray curl back from my face.

There was a metallic clang from behind me as a suit of armor turned. The visor flew open, and a creaky voice came out.

"Forget the weasel infestation," it said. "You could do so much better."

I rolled my eyes as the suit of armor raised its arms, obviously meaning to flex them.

"Are you using a Confundus charm?" it continued. "Or are you just naturally mind-blowing?"

I raised my eyebrows, wondering how many pick-up lines he had heard from the students. He must have learned it from somewhere. Before I could say anything, however, another suit of armor turned toward the first.

"You won't win the lady's heart with that crass behavior," it said sharply. "She is obviously far too honorable for that."

I stepped closer as they continued to argue. My week just seemed to be getting weirder and weirder.

"Oh, shut up, both of you," I snapped when I couldn't take it any longer. I reached up and slammed their visors shut, the resulting clang echoing loudly, and turned on my heel and marched down the corridor to the window.

I leaned on the windowsill, staring out over the moonlit grounds. I exhaled and rested my head against the cool glass. I wished it wasn't so quiet. My thoughts were growing louder and more insistent. This had definitely been my...well, strangest, for lack of a better word, year of Hogwarts yet. This term was just about at end yet I felt like I hadn't truly caught my breath since getting off the train in September. It was true what my mum liked to say, that things could change in an instant, and most often when you least expected them to...but I was still the same Alyssa. Or was I? Something felt different. Harry Potter's face came uncomfortably floating back through my memory, his disdain at finding out I was related to the Blacks, the Weasleys' accusations of my family being spoiled and rich, my mother's strained letter. I could have screamed. It was in my nature to have a plan, have a map, have backups, but I admittedly was feeling less and less in control as time went on. Maybe that was just part of growing up, I thought. Realizing life has its way of screwing with you while you're busy making plans. Certainly, things had been happening that I hadn't been expecting, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to going home this summer and living in fear of my estranged cousin. I was already dreading the idea of spending a whole summer agonizing over stupid, stupid, stupid Fred Weasley...

I suddenly realized my elbows were starting to ache-how long had I been leaning on this dusty window ledge?

"Thanks, Weasley, first you drive me to psychosis and now you're giving me arthritis," I grumbled under my breath, quickly shooting the suits of armor a filthy look over my shoulder, expecting them to start on me again. But they remained still and quiet. I truly was up here alone with my thoughts.

And those thoughts...I'd trade a thousand Galleons for someone to take my head off and shake it vigorously until they came pouring out of my ears. I'd always enjoyed thinking too much-that was one of the reasons I'd been sorted into Ravenclaw, after all-but this time, all of these _feelings_ swirling around felt like spoiled milk.

As I stood up from the window ledge to stretch my aching back, wondering what time it was, the moonlight-bathed corridor suddenly became darker. A rippling shadow was passing over the window, and I could see the leaves from the nearby trees waving about, as though tousled by a turbulent breeze.

"What in the world...?" I murmured to myself, heading back to the window and trying not to think about how many times I'd talked to myself tonight. It really was getting to be a bad habit.

I completely lost whatever grace I possessed as I found myself choking on my own saliva; stumbling backwards in shock and fright as the source of the shadow and turbulence was revealed.

An enormous winged creature was soaring upwards, seemingly heading into the inky black sky and towards the shining full moon. My memory jogged; I thought of Hagrid and the paddock and climbing over the fence: it was a hippogriff.

Its steely feathers gleamed in the moonlight as it soared, and it was a few dumbfounded moments before I realized the hippogriff wasn't alone-there was a...a... I had to stop and rub my eyes to make sure, but I was right. There was a _man_ riding on its back, his thin arms clamped around the creature's thick neck. I nearly missed him; his ragged grey robes had blended into the beast.

The Hippogriff beat it's great wings once again, sending the branches into another tizzy as it rose higher. In my shock I found myself admiring the image for a moment; the way they were framed against the moon, the way the man's long ragged hair was swaying in the breeze; it was the picture of freedom-

 _"Ahem."_

My stomach dropped yet again and I stumbled over my own feet as I spun in place. No one was there, but the overly chatty suit of armor's head was turned to me.

"My fair lady, are you not a Prefect?" He questioned, chortling, the metal rattling a little. "I am certain that _that_ -" he lifted a squeaky arm, pointing out the window- "is not normal."

I blinked once before coming to my senses, slightly burning with humiliation that a suit of armor had to tell me to do my job. I hurtled forward, leaning down to grab my bag as I went, and made a mad dash down the corridor. I cast one last look over my shoulder before I turned out; the figure of the Hippogriff against the sky was indeed still there and getting smaller and smaller by the second.

Leaving a trail of expelled carpet dust hanging in the air behind me, I sprinted as fast as I could for the nearest staircase. I had to find Professor Dumbledore.


	16. Chapter 16: Flight of the Hippogriff

Chapter 16: Flight of the Hippogriff

 **What a (relatively) quick update! I've been busting my tail to get this down for you guys, and I'm especially excited that I got to update on today, the most important day of the year...Fred and George's Birthday!**

 **I hope you like the chapter! Let me know what you think in a review!**

* * *

I barely made it down the first flight of stairs before I realized that I didn't know where to begin looking for Dumbledore. I glanced down at my watch, but it was too dark to see. I fumbled for my wand, which was poking out of my bag.

" _Lumos!"_ I muttered. The light was bright enough to see the face of my watch. It was nearly midnight. Where would Dumbledore be at this hour?

The most reasonable answer was his office, so I took off again, only to stop at the top of stairs as several of the portraits cried out.

"Put that light out, would you?" a wizened old monk pleaded. "We're trying to sleep!"

"Sorry!" I hissed. _"Nox!"_

"Thank you," he mumbled as I started down the stairs again.

By the time I reached the second floor and the ugly gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office, I was out of breath and hoping to heaven that I had made the right choice in coming here first.

"I need...to see...Dumbledore!" I gasped, clutching a stitch in my side.

The gargoyle remained impassive. I groaned and raked my fingers through my hair, which had come loose from its plait somewhere during my flight from the sixth floor.

"Look," I sighed, moving closer and tapping the badge on the front of my shirt. "I'm a prefect, okay? And this is really important. An emergency. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have run down four flights of stairs! So would you please, _please_ move so that I can see Professor Dumbledore?"

The gargoyle groaned suddenly, glaring at me as though I'd woken it up.

"The headmaster isn't here," it said, its voice low and scratchy.

"Not here?" I repeated, noticing that a thread of hysteria had found its way into my voice. "Where is he?"

But the gargoyle had frozen again, so stiff that I couldn't believe it had ever spoken. I considered kicking it, but before I could actually do it, a voice called to me from down the corridor.

"Miss! Over here!"

It was a painting of a peaky witch with long dark hair and purple robes. Her eyes were wide as she beckoned me to her with a frantic wave of her hand.

"Did you say you were looking for Dumbledore?" she asked when I was standing before her.

" _Yes!"_ I cried exasperatedly. "That's all I've been saying!"

She raised her eyebrows indignantly. "Well, there's no need for rudeness! He walked through here a bit ago."

"Do you know where he was going?" I asked.

"Well, I can't be sure, but I thought he said something about the hospital wing."

I frowned. "Who was he talking to?"

She gave a tinkling laugh, like the sound of clattering china. "Who else, my dear, but himself? That man has more interesting conversations with himself than most of the inhabitants of this place."

"But you're sure he said the hospital wing?" I pressed.

"Of course I'm sure!" she said, looking affronted.

"Thank you!" I sighed, moving toward the stairs, walking backwards. "And I'm sorry!"

She just shook her head exasperatedly and waved me on.

Thank Merlin, the hospital wing was only one floor below Dumbledore's office. I hovered outside the door, not sure if he was still inside. I was made even more uncertain by the fact that there were raised voices coming from inside. The words were indistinct, but I recognized Professor Snape's voice, along with Dumbledore's and another I didn't know. Snape's voice grew in volume, and I had just enough time to get out of the way before the doors opened with a bang and Snape strode out of the hospital wing with a bang, fury etched into every line of his face. He stared at me uncomprehendingly for a moment, but before either of us could say anything, he was followed into the corridor by Professor Dumbledore and none other than Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. My eyes widened at the sight of him and I momentarily forgot my reason for being there. I had never seen him in person, only in pictures in _The Daily Prophet._ He was a heavily-built man and there was a lime green bowler hat spinning in his hands. He wore a starched pinstriped cloak and had the look of someone who wanted to seem as important as he possibly could.

"Alyssa?"

I tore my gaze away from Fudge to look at Dumbledore, who was watching me with mild surprise. I shook my head quickly to clear it.

"Sir, I've just-"

"Who's this?" Fudge asked, looking curious.

"Alyssa Summers," I said impatiently, ignoring the voice in my head that was reprimanding me for my rudeness. It sounded suspiciously like my mother. "Professor Dumbledore, I have to tell you-"

"I'm afraid it will have to wait a moment, Alyssa," he said. "Why don't you wait for me in my office?"

"But, sir!" I protested. "This is really-"

"Alyssa." He looked at me down his long, crooked nose, the twinkle in his eye buried very deep. "Go up to my office. I'll be there in a moment. The password is 'Fudge Flies.' Feel free to make yourself comfortable until I get there."

I frowned, but turned and headed for the stairs again. At the top, I turned to glance back at him. The three men were still watching me. Dumbledore made a shooing motion and I turned around, not bothering to protest again.

"Did you find him?" the portrait of the witch called as I approached.

I shrugged by way of answer, making her scoff. I didn't stop to explain anything. I was too busy wondering what had just happened. Why hadn't he wanted me to say anything? I would've thought that the Minister, of all people, should hear about what I'd seen.

"You're back, are you?" the gargoyle said grumpily as I said the password. He moved aside and I stepped onto the moving staircase, the wall closing behind me. I was too lost in my thoughts to be awed by the office this time. Fawkes let out a musical cry as I entered, soaring over to the desk in front of me. I sat, absently stroking his feathers as I let my mind wander over what had happened, recalling the image of the hippogriff and the man silhouetted against the moon.

'Excuse me, my dear." One of the paintings behind the desk addressed me, causing me to look up. It was the portrait of a clever-looking wizard, with dark eyes and a pointed beard.

"Yes?" I said tiredly.

"I seem to have heard a rumor that you're related to the infamous Sirius Black," he said, his voice snide and oily. "Would there happen to be any truth to that?"

I leaned forward in my chair, putting my elbows on my knees. "Why, exactly, would a portrait be interested in my family tree?"

He smirked at me. "Like you said, child. I am a portrait. I have nothing better to do."

"That will do, Phineas."

I turned sharply at the sound of Dumbledore's voice. He was standing just inside the door, looking tired. Silently, he crossed the room to sit behind his desk, looking perfectly relaxed. He interlaced his fingers and met my eyes.

"I believe you had something to tell me?" he said calmly.

"Yes, sir," I nodded quickly. "You see, I was patrolling the sixth floor, and I'd been up there for a while, and I was looking out the window, and there was this big shadow, and-" Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was aware that I was rambling, but I couldn't make myself stop. "-I looked and there was this _hippogriff_ flying away from the castle, and when I looked closer...sir, there was a _man_ on its back. And then...I came to find you," I finished lamely.

I watched Dumbledore as he nodded, more to himself than to me. His eyes seemed far away, as though he was thinking about something else. Finally, he spoke.  
"Alyssa, that man you saw was Sirius Black."

" _Sirius Black?"_

He held up a hand. "And he is an innocent man."

I opened my mouth, but he shook his head. "Before you say anything, know that what I have told you must stay between us. I tell you this because you carry a great weight on your shoulders, feeling connected to someone who has done something so evil. But you needn't bear it. He is innocent."

"But," I said, my voice shaking. "If he didn't kill anybody, why was he sent to Azkaban? Why didn't anyone get him released? And if he didn't kill anybody, how did all those people die?"

"So many questions," he smiled. "And someday, you will get the answers. For now, though, all I will say is that he was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit."

"Why can't you tell me now?" I persisted.

He chuckled. "It isn't my story to tell, I'm afraid. But I promise, someday you'll know the whole truth."

I nodded reluctantly. Then something occurred to me. "My mother should know. She's been so worried about him, even before he escaped Azkaban."

Dumbledore nodded, his bright blue eyes beaming at me. "Consider my owl written. But I shall warn her, as I have warned you, that this must stay a secret. You are to tell nobody. Not even your best friend. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Sensing that my audience with the headmaster was coming to a close, I stood and moved toward the door. I found myself pausing with my hand on the doorknob.

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked gently. "Is there something else?"

"Only one more thing," I said. "Someone should tell Harry. He should know."

This time, he did smile, and not just with his eyes. "He already does. Goodnight, Alyssa."

"He..." I stopped myself. "Goodnight, sir."

* * *

The following day, the school was buzzing with news that Sirius Black had been captured and managed to escape yet again. The story was made even more incredible by the fact that the dementors had actually had him in their grasp this time, and somehow, he had disappeared, into thin air, the first-years were saying.

"Maybe he Disapparated," Megan mused, idly turning a page of her book.

Samantha snorted. "Don't be silly. Everyone knows that you can't Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds."

We were sitting in the corner of the Ravenclaw library, which was filled with clusters of students, talking excitedly in hushed voices.

"Well, maybe it's some kind of Dark magic!" Megan argued. "What do you think, 'Lyssa? How'd Black do it?"

"How should I know?" I frowned, not glancing up from my book.

"I just wondered if you had some sort of theory," she said quickly. "You're usually really good with this sort of thing. I didn't mean that you-"

"I know," I said, cutting her off. I closed my book, marking my place with my thumb between the pages. "But no, I don't have any theories this time. I don't know how anyone could escape those dementors."

The mere thought of them made my blood run cold. How _had_ Black ever managed to escape from Azkaban, surrounded by those creatures day and night?

"Dementors must have some weakness," I mused. "Nothing's totally invincible." A thought occurred to me. "I bet Professor Lupin would know. He knows a lot about Dark creatures."

Samantha raised an eyebrow. "Well, you won't have a chance to ask him. He's leaving."

My book fell from my hand to the floor with a loud thud, earning me dirty looks from the nearby Ravenclaws. I grimaced apologetically before turning back to Samantha.

"What do you mean, 'he's leaving?'" I hissed.

"Exactly that. He's not going to teach here anymore," she frowned, looking at me as though I was a bit slow. "I heard that he's started packing after breakfast. I don't blame him, not after what got out this morning."

"What got out?" I demanded. "I wasn't there, remember?"

With my mind exhausted by the previous night's events but buzzing with questions, I hadn't gotten to sleep until the early hours of the morning and had therefore slept straight through breakfast.

Samantha and Megan exchanged uneasy glances. Then Megan sighed. "'Lyssa, he's a werewolf."

"So what?" I frowned, much to their surprise. "Who cares what he is? Look at everything he taught us! My grades improved so much this year!"

" _Your grades?"_ Megan asked incredulously. She reached across the table and put her hands on my shoulders. "Alyssa, listen to me. He's a _werewolf._ He's dangerous!"

I shrugged her hands away and got to my feet. "You never would have guessed that he was a werewolf until this morning. Does that really have such a huge influence on what you think of him?"

I snatched up my book and turned on my heel.

"Where are you going?" Megan sighed.

"To find Professor Lupin," I called over my shoulder. "Someone has to convince him to stay."

And with that, I strode out of the library before she could call me back. I had a vague sense of déjà vu as I marched down flight after flight of stairs. This time, however, I wasn't quite sure where I was going. I only knew that I had to find Professor Lupin before he left. I wasn't sure if he'd be in his office, or perhaps in the staff room, or even Dumbledore's office. I spent a few minutes hovering uncertainly, one of my feet poised above the next step, but not touching it as I tried to decide where to go. In the end, I decided that it would be best to wait for him on the front steps, as he'd have to come that way eventually. I made my way out the front doors and settled myself on the bottom step. A horseless carriage was waiting there, obviously for Professor Lupin. I could see across the grounds from there, everything from the lake to the Forbidden Forest. I amused myself by watching the first-years by the lake, standing frozen in place as the giant squid propelled itself lazily across the surface of the water. I could remember being that awed the first time I'd seen it. I had yet to work out where it had come from, and why it was in the lake at all.

"Hagrid put it there, probably," Megan had joked the first time I'd asked her opinion about it. Megan... I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought of how I'd snapped at her. It wasn't her fault, really. People were generally wary of werewolves, and they did have good reason. But Professor Lupin wasn't an evil monster who attacked helpless people. He was just a man, who happened to have a problem. It wasn't as though he'd chosen this.

Suddenly, as though my thoughts had conjured him up, Lupin himself appeared at the top of the steps, carrying an empty tank under one arm, holding a suitcase that looked as if it had been around the world twice in his free hand. I heard his footsteps and turned, scrambling to my feet.

"Professor!"

He smiled, albeit tiredly, setting the tank and the suitcase down. "Hello, Alyssa. What can I do for you?"

"You can stay," I said firmly. "You don't have to leave just because you're a...a..." The word stuck in my throat, refusing to make itself heard.

"Werewolf," he supplied. "I can't change that. And I'd forgotten how dangerous that can be. I had a very close call last night. People could have gotten hurt. I can't risk that again."

"But...isn't there any way you can...?" He was already shaking his head.

"It's all right," he said gently, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'll be fine."

I could feel my throat tightening, a telltale sign that I was about to cry. I shook my head quickly, determined not to burst into tears.

"Well...be careful," I said, my voice thick. "I still wish you wouldn't leave."

"Trust me," he sighed. "I'm sorry to have to go. I've enjoyed teaching you all this year."

"You're the only competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher I've had," I admitted. "I think I might've gotten an 'O' on my O.W.L."

"That's good," he smiled. "You've worked hard."

I nodded, finding myself unable to speak again. He waited another moment, then gave my shoulder a squeeze and picked up his worn suitcase and the empty tank again. He put them inside the carriage and started to climb in himself.

"Professor Lupin?" I said quickly.

He turned. "Yes?"

"...Thank you."

He chuckled. "You're welcome, Alyssa. I'm sure I'll see you again. Take care of yourself."

With one last smile, he climbed into the carriage and shut the door. Immediately, the carriage started to move away. I sighed and turned, climbing the stairs and heading back inside.

* * *

"'Lyssa!"

I jumped sharply as George called my name. He had somehow walked over and sat next to me without my noticing.

"Where are you?" he chuckled. "I said your name four times."

I frowned. "No, you didn't...did you?" He nodded smugly. I sighed. "Well, why are you here?"

"Grumpy," he muttered, poking my side. "I was wondering what you were doing. You've been sitting here with that book in your hands, staring at the lake for the past fifteen minutes."

I glanced down at my journal and groaned. I had come outside with the intention of writing in it, but apparently, I had only succeeded in getting so distracted that I'd left a giant ink blot on the page. I tapped the page with my wand and the mess disappeared. I closed the journal, fixing my eyes on the tree painted on the cover.

"Sorry," I sighed. "I've just been feeling kind of off lately."

"I can tell," George grinned, stripping off his socks and shoes and sticking his feet in the edge of the water, next to mine. "Elena's looking for you, by the way."

"Why isn't she here, then?" I asked.

"We split up to make the search easier," he said teasingly. "She's probably checking the library for you."

"How'd you know I'd be out here?"

"I didn't," he said, shrugging easily. "But I got bored looking for you in every empty classroom and broom cupboard I came upon. So I came out here to take a well-deserved break."

"How flattering," I sighed.

He laughed, then nudged me. "Elena wanted me to make sure that you were all right if I found you."

"Why wouldn't I be all right?" I asked, screwing the lid back on my ink bottle.

"Because you've been acting weird," he stated simply. "You've been quiet. Agreeable. Easy to be around. I'm starting to wonder if you're ill." I elbowed him in the ribs sharply, driving the air from his lungs. He gasped, glaring at me and rubbing his side.

"I'm telling Elena," he informed me, as though that was supposed to worry me.

"She'll just say that you probably deserved it," I told him. "Which you did."

He sighed. We didn't say anything for several minutes, but just when I was starting to feel comfortable in the silence, he spoke up again.

"Has anybody been harassing you about Sirius Black again?" he asked. "Because if you just give me names, they'll all find themselves with itching powder in their underwear."

"My hero," I snorted, fluttering my eyelashes dramatically. "As much as I'd like to see how you plan to go about that, no one's said anything about it. Either they're all starting to forget about it, or they're worried that I'll have Black murder them if they accuse me of anything. I can't decide which."

He nodded, looking thoughtful. "Is this about Professor Lupin leaving?" he asked. "I know you liked him. We all did. It's stupid that he had to go."

"Are you just determined to hear about whatever's upsetting me?" I demanded.

"Ah ha!" he cried loudly, making me jump again. "So something _is_ upsetting you!"

"Oh, aren't you the clever one?" I mumbled. "Maybe something is. But it doesn't matter. I'm fine."

"What kind of friend would I be if I let you get away with that?" he asked, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "I thought you knew me better than that. I'm not leaving until you spill your guts."

"What a charming image," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"Have you and Fred been arguing again?" he asked abruptly.

I froze. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged, looking uneasy. "Dunno, it's just...well, he's been saying things. To me and Lee."

"Things?" I frowned. "What, about me?"

"Er...yeah," he admitted. "Not particularly nice things."

I felt a sharp stab in my chest. I had to stop myself from visibly wincing.

"What's he been saying?" I asked, hoping I sounded casual.

"He's been..." He stopped, looking hesitant.

I raised my eyebrows. "Go on."

"He's been...Well, he's been saying that you fancy him," he said reluctantly. "Among some other stuff."

 _"What?!"_ I cried, standing so quickly that upturned the ink bottle sitting next to me.

George jumped up too, making a placating gesture. "He's just messing around, Alyssa, he doesn't mean anything by i-"

"Oh yes, he does," I said furiously. "He always means it. Why is he – do you know he-?" I closed my mouth quickly, wondering if I should go on.

"Do I know he what?" George asked curiously.

I made up my mind. "Do you know he studied for his O.W.L.s? In secret?"

George's ears went bright red. "How did you know – I mean, who told you that?"

I came to a realization as I watched his cheeks turn pink; George had studied, too.

"I just...That's not important," I decided. "But I'm not – I don't fancy – He's the one that..." As much as I wanted to, I couldn't make the words swirling around in my mind form on my tongue. I gave up, throwing my hands up in defeat.

"It doesn't matter," I sighed, bending to stuff my journal and ink back into my bag.

"He's the one that...?" George prompted.

I shook my head, pulling my socks and shoes back on. "It doesn't matter. Never mind. I'm going to go find 'Lena so that she can stop hunting for me."

I started back toward the castle, George following after, hobbling as he tried to put his shoes on and walk at the same time.

"'Lyssa," he said once he was finished, panting slightly. "Don't say anything to Fred about what I told you, all right? Like I said, he didn't mean anything by it."

I ignored him, taking longer strides as I continued walking. I had nearly made it up to the castle before I heard it.

"Promise me, Princess!"

I froze mid-step, turning slowly to face him. He was a ways behind me, but I could see his sheepish grin as he caught up with me.

I sighed. "I won't say anything to him. I promise."

"There's a 'but' in there somewhere, isn't there?" he smirked.

"But...don't ever call me Princess again."

He put his hands in his pockets, chuckling. "All right, then."

I worked up a smile, then started to turn away, only to hesitate.

"George?" I said. "One more thing."

He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

I grimaced. "Do me a favor...and don't tell Fred that I got upset about what you told me. Please?"

He didn't respond right away, but the look he gave me was so full of pity that I found myself walking away, not bothering to wait for his answer. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear it.


End file.
